


You Came Back (For Me?)

by genVicron



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora is comfortably in love but doesn't know what that means yet, Adora's a bit of a badass in the first two chapters, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Catra is pining hard enough to cut diamonds but doesn't understand it, Catra's a Spy AU, Come get ya'lls mutual pining, Don't worry she's a dork again by chapter three, Etheria: The Strategy Game, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gonna get really angsty towards the end, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Is Shadow Weaver smarter dumber or just more spiteful in here than in canon, No editors we die like men, Scorpia's a Nice girl but she's not a Good girl, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Slow Burn, The Mission Mode is strong with this one, You will have to pry Momgella from my cold dead hands, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2020-05-27 16:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 100,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19384678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genVicron/pseuds/genVicron
Summary: Adora could never have just left Catra in the Fright Zone alone.  She made a promise, and now she knew how to follow through on it.Catra could never have hoped to just leave.  Not at first, but then Adora came back, then Shadow Weaver gave her the chance to prove herself.  Finally.If Catra hadn’t been the one sent to Thaymore, what could Adora do but come back for her?





	1. Let Me Try

**Author's Note:**

> Updates Monthly, or Bi-Weekly if I have intermission scenes to post.

“For the last time, where is Adora?” Shadow Weaver demanded, looming over her. Catra had to bite her tongue for a second, she wasn’t about to give the hag the one thing Adora had told her not to, but she couldn’t let her know who told her to keep quiet, either. Shadow Weaver’s shine on Adora was as much a curse as it was a blessing, she knew this, no matter what that jealous twist in her gut said.

If she knew Adora was defying her on purpose, that would only mean a worse punishment. For the both of them, even if Catra would still take the worst of it.

“For the last time, I don’t know!” Catra shouted back, letting that resentment in her chest take hold to keep up the act. “You think I keep her on a leash?” Shadow Weaver’s cloak shifted and trembled like it was growling.

“I know you’re lying,” she hissed. “You two are close.” She spat it like it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard and Catra’s resolve hardened a little. “She would never depart without telling you.” That was Catra’s queue to act. She turned her head aside, let her voice lower so she sounded properly heartbroken, and tried not to think about how Adora might really be gone.

“Then I guess she let us both down, huh?”

Shadow Weaver’s tendrils writhed again and she let out an exasperated sound that was closer to a snarl than a sigh.

“Have it your way,” she spat, turning to the pedestal in the center of the room. “I already know where she is. We’ve been tracking her.” Catra blinked, this was a trap, and she’d walked right into it. A bitter edge crept into her thoughts, at least she’d made sure not to drag Adora down with her.

“Uh, then why did you ask me?” She asked, bracing herself for punishment.

“To see if I could trust _you_ to bring her back to me.” Shadow Weaver sneered, “obviously, I cannot.” She wheeled on Catra, grabbing her by the chin. The contact made Catra freeze, a part of her howling to fight back but it was drowned out by the terror of knowing Shadow Weaver only deigned to touch her if she was beyond furious. “So you will be staying here while I remind you why you should never lie to me, and someone more capable retrieves Adora.”

Catra closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain.

* * *

This was a lot more chaotic than the training sims had prepared her for. Adora jumped and ducked around fallen pieces of building, dodging potshots from the robots. She just had to find whoever was in charge of this attack and she could set the record straight.

She could still do that, right?

Her mind practically skipped a beat every time she thought too hard about this. Thaymore was supposed to be a fortress, a weapons stockpile, anything but what it was. Just a bunch of people living their lives. Living better than the Horde from what she’d seen.

And this had been her first assignment as Force Captain, Shadow Weaver had wanted _her_ to do this. She had to swallow heavily to keep herself from tasting bile.

Then there were Glimmer and Bow. Even as their prisoner they’d been better to her than Shadow Weaver was on a good day, especially Bow. It all made her head hurt. She had to sort this out, so the world could start making sense again.

She wished Catra were here, Catra was always so much better at dealing with the unexpected than she was.

She rounded a corner and found herself almost running nose-first into a tank. There was a moment she wanted to throw herself aside, but a tank meant a pilot. So instead she waved her arms and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Don’t shoot, I’m friendly!” She gestured to the Horde issue clothes she was wearing. The hatch popped open and an unfamiliar woman popped out with a shock of white hair and red armoured plates.

“Oh hey! Blond hair, cadet top, you must be Adora!” The woman raised a frankly enormous pincer and waved back to her, beaming from ear to ear. “I’m Force Captain Scorpia, Shadow Weaver sent me to pick you up.” Scorpia pulled herself out of the tank to stand in front of her, “and to tidy up the whole missed launch thing. Man, it’s lucky you were here, huh? Two birds with one stone.”

“Uh, I guess,” Adora blinked up at Scorpia. Everything about Scorpia was just Big and it was more than a little intimidating despite her attitude given all the explosions still going on. “That’s not the point!” Adora shook herself and stood up stock-straight to put her mind back on track. “Something’s gone wrong. We had bad intel or something, Thaymore was supposed to be a rebel stronghold, this is just a civilian town. Force Captain, you have to get these troops to turn around.”

Scorpia spent a couple seconds just staring at her, the look on her face confused and more than a little pitying. Adora had to do her best to keep herself from bouncing with impatience.

“Who told you this was a stronghold?” Adora couldn’t contain the flinch at that. “I mean, it’s important to the Rebellion since it’s right on the most stable road through the Whispering Woods, but it’s just a pit-stop.” Scorpia shrugged and Adora was absolutely certain the fact that they were steamrolling innocent people’s homes meant nothing to her. “I wouldn’t call it a fortress or anything like that.”

“But that’s what Shadow Weaver told-” Adora cut herself off. Shadow Weaver lied to her. She lied about something everyone else already knew. Did the rest of her squad know? Did Catra?

“Tell you what,” Scorpia broke her out of her thoughts, stepping closer and holding out a pincer with surprising tenderness. “Come on home with us and you can talk to her about it yourself.” The impulse to refuse nearly seized Adora. Even without the sword, how could they catch her if she managed to get back to Glimmer? If Shadow Weaver had lied to her now, what would stop her from just lying more when she got back?

Then a thought stopped her cold. Catra. She’d promised Catra she’d be right back. Shadow Weaver knew the two of them were close, Catra would have been the best choice to retrieve her, why hadn’t she sent Catra? If Scorpia was here, where was Catra?

Adora felt her stomach sink into her feet. If she wasn’t here, that meant she hadn’t told Shadow Weaver where Adora had gone. Which meant Shadow Weaver had found out some other way and was probably taking it out on Catra right now.

With an all too familiar bitter twist in her gut she realized that just like always there was nothing she could do about it.

She couldn’t do anything, but maybe, the Scary Lady could.

Adora had always worn her thoughts on her sleeve, she hadn’t really felt the need to hide them before, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when Scorpia nodded. “Looks like you’ve made up your mind, you coming?” Adora shook her head and took a deep breath to settle herself.

“I’ll go with you, but you have to promise to leave these people alone.” Scorpia winced a little and tapped her pincers together. “This isn’t a fortress and these people aren’t soldiers. It’s not like you left them anything to return to already. Just let them leave without hurting anyone and I’m all yours.” 

“I dunno,” Scorpia hissed through her teeth, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’ve gotta make a call before I can authorize that.”

“Fine, I need to get something anyways,” Adora nodded. Scorpia nodded to her and she turned to go find Glimmer and Bow.

The scene she found them in was a little strange. They were surrounded by broken bots, but Bow was out of arrows and Glimmer looked exhausted, sitting against the remains of a wall behind them. There were still around five active bots looking at them, but they weren’t shooting. Scorpia must have put out the standby signal already in case she was allowed to pull them back.

“Adora!” Bow cried, his face lighting up, “you’re okay!” Glimmer just nodded to her, trying to catch her breath. Adora didn’t think she had the energy to deal with a long-winded explanation right now, she’d keep it quick.

“I think I can stop this, but I need the sword.” She said firmly.

“Heh,” Glimmer let out a tired chuckle, “gonna turn into the big lady and chase them all off?”

“No,” Adora replied, to a chorus of surprised shouts from the two of them. “They’re here for me more than they are for the town. If I go with them they’ll leave you guys alone.”

“Then why do you need the sword?” Glimmer demanded, glaring at her a little. Adora couldn’t blame her, it probably looked like she was betraying them and taking the sword with her. She took a deep breath and thought about what Shadow Weaver must be doing to Catra right now.

“There’s someone in the Fright Zone I need to go back for. I can’t just leave her there, but I’m going to need the scary lady to get her out.” If the way Bow was looking at her was any indication, her expression was probably less than kind. “I made her a promise, and now I think I know how to keep it.” She stepped forward and kneeled down to where Glimmer was sitting, “I think I can trust you to help me keep it. Please,” she reached out her hand. “Give me the sword, and let me try.” Glimmer hesitated.

“You’re coming back.” It wasn’t a question, or a statement, it was a command. One Adora didn’t think would be too hard to follow.

“With a friend,” Adora nodded and Glimmer pressed the sword into her hand, a small smile tugging at her face.

“Then I trust you.” Adora had to choke back a rather confusing mixture of feelings at those words but kept up a strong face as she took the sword. 

“Three days, tops. Meet me here.” She glanced over to Bow, he looked like he might cry. “If I’m not back by then… it was great to meet you both.” She gave the two of them a grateful smile and stood up, strapping the sword across her back and schooling her expression into a grim determination as she turned to go. “Goodbye.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Bow called out after her, his voice choked and cracking, “you can do it! We’ll see you in two days.” Adora felt her stone expression crack and waved back at him.

“One day!”

By the time she got back to Scorpia she looked every bit the loyal soldier once again. It was what she was good at, after all. Scorpia looked a little agitated, but mostly relieved.

“Good news!” Scorpia said brightly, “Shadow Weaver says I can call the retreat order, so you can come back the easy way.” She pulled up the hatch for the tank.

“That’s great,” Adora said back, not moving. “Do it now, then.”

“Right now, now? Okay,” Scorpia shrugged and reached into the tank to press something. “Mission accomplished, fall back for extraction.”

A veritable flood of robots and soldiers came rushing out from between the buildings, heading for the outskirts of town where they’d come in. “Shadow Weaver never mentioned you were so fussy,” Scorpia said as Adora climbed into the tank. “No wonder she thinks you’ll be a great Force Captain, good eye for detail.” Adora would rather not think about what Shadow Weaver thinks right now.

As the tank rumbled back towards the Fright Zone, Adora got the feeling she would have liked Scorpia two days ago. She was nice, when she wasn’t siccing soldiers on civilians, anyways. Right now, the constant drone of her attempts at small talk were making it hard for Adora to think.

She needed a story for when she got back to Shadow Weaver, and she needed to stick to it.

* * *

When Catra woke up she almost wished her throat felt as raw as the rest of her, but Shadow Weaver had long since perfected the art of hurting her without leaving a trace of it. Even the ache she left behind was all in Catra’s head by this point.

Shadow Weaver didn’t want Catra bringing down the squad’s times because she was too hurt to perform, after all. Catra thought bitterly as she slowly opened her eyes. She was still in Shadow Weaver’s office, splayed out on a table she could remember seeing dissected specimens on before all too clearly.

“You are uncommonly fortunate, Catra.” Shadow Weaver’s voice sounded from somewhere out of sight and Catra jolted up straight, looking around wildly until her eyes settled on the softly flowing tendrils of cloth poking out from around the bottom of a tall chair on the other side of the room. “Force Captain Scorpia was able to retrieve Adora with little difficulty, I won’t have to punish you further. They’ve just arrived back.”

Catra shuddered and Shadow Weaver let out a dry, humorless chuckle, “I wonder if your luck will hold up against Adora’s testimony.” Catra didn’t dare say anything yet. She hadn’t cried through her entire punishment, but she wasn’t going to say a word until she could be sure her voice wouldn’t tremble. “Either way, I trust you’ve learned your lesson?”

She was trying to coax out words, but Catra knew even with her back turned Shadow Weaver could see everything she did. At least in this room, anyways. So she just nodded carefully, trying to keep herself from baring her teeth. “Good. I expect you to keep quiet while I debrief Adora. Though I don’t expect even you could fail in that simple task.” She turned the chair slightly so that Catra could see one of her narrowed eyes through the mask. 

Catra nodded, Shadow Weaver nodded back and stood, moving to put herself between Catra and the door. Catra decided to take the opportunity to grab her aching head.

The door slid open and Shadow Weaver began speaking before Catra even had the chance to look back up. “Adora,” she said in that stupid fake-pleased voice that made Catra want to gag. “Welcome back. You had us worried.” Catra’s lip twitched hard enough to show off fangs as she looked up. “Catra told me everything, of course, but we know how spotty her memory can be. So tell me, where were you _all morning?_ ”

Adora looked different, she normally folded in on herself or jerked into a parade rest when Shadow Weaver was near, averting her eyes just enough to be respectful. This time though, she met the witch’s stare head on, her shoulders squared almost aggressively and a sword almost as long she was tall strapped to her back. Something had happened. 

Catra blinked as Adora’s eyes flicked to her over Shadow Weaver’s shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but the question was obvious enough. Catra shook her head slightly, she hadn’t told Shadow Weaver anything.

“I went to the Whispering Woods to find something and got lost.” Adora said, plain as anything, just another debriefing, like she hadn’t been gone all night.

“And why,” Shadow Weaver all but snarled, reaching out to press a hand against Adora’s shoulder, “would you be looking for anything in the Whispering Woods?” Adora’s eyes flicked to Catra again, she shrugged.

“Last night I convinced Catra to come with me and took a skiff out there, to celebrate my promotion, ma’am. While we were out there I saw this,” she pointed to the sword, “and ran into a branch while staring at it. It’s a good thing Catra was there,” Catra felt a bit of a smirk coming on, at least Adora had her back after the fact. “I had hit my head pretty badly, so she took control of the skiff and brought us home. I told her not to tell anyone about it,” for the first time since walking into the room Adora’s posture slumped a little, “I was embarrassed.” Shadow Weaver took her hand off of Adora’s shoulder as she turned slowly to look back at Catra.

“What she said,” Catra said, belligerent as she could muster without calling down another zapping.

“That does not explain why you were out this morning, Force Captain,” Shadow Weaver said pointedly, turning back to Adora who was now meeting her gaze again. “If Catra brought you back, why were you still gone?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about the sword, ma’am.” It wasn’t just that Adora was looking straight at her, there was a steel in her eyes and her hands kept flexing at her sides. Adora was really, really mad at Shadow Weaver. Catra had seen Adora angry before, but never right in Shadow Weaver’s face. “I wanted it, but I knew Catra would be too worried about my head injury to let me go back. So I snuck out once she was asleep. I had intended to be right back, but I was attacked by some kind of bug creature while retrieving the sword. It destroyed the skiff so I had to find my way back on foot.”

“The Whispering Woods _can_ be quite treacherous on foot,” Shadow Weaver admitted through grit teeth, her own fingers starting to crook in the way she got when she wanted to punish someone but hadn’t thought of an excuse to do so yet. “And what of the two Rebellion soldiers you were seen with? Did they capture you?” Adora’s eyes narrowed a little when Shadow Weaver dismissively looked away.

“No, I spotted them first, they weren’t a threat, but they knew how to navigate the woods and I didn’t. My jacket doesn’t have an insignia on it, I just removed my badge, turned my belt around and asked for directions to the nearest road. They were…” Adora glanced at Catra again but this time she couldn’t read the question in her eyes, “surprisingly cooperative.”

“And they brought you to that backwater hamlet?” Shadow Weaver asked, gliding over to her basin and looking down into it.

“They escorted me to _Thaymore_ , yes.” Shadow Weaver stiffened a little, glancing sidelong towards Adora. Adora didn’t flinch, but Catra had to contain the urge to move back a little. As far as Adora went when it came to talking back to Shadow Weaver of all people, she might as well have just screamed at her. If Adora was angry enough to be that out in the open about it, Catra was worried it was only a matter of time until Shadow Weaver had enough and decided to make an example of Catra again.

“I see,” Shadow Weaver said, her voice nonchalant with an edge of ice beneath. “Where are your badge and jacket now?”

“I lost them in the chaos when your retrieval team arrived. To a civilian town.” Catra could practically see Adora’s teeth grinding, so that’s what this was about. Adora’s hero complex was finally clashing with how things were around here. “With cannons blazing.”

“You were missing, Adora. With a Princess and a Rebel, I feared the worst.” Shadow Weaver turned and moved towards Catra, “and Catra was worse than useless on the matter.” Adora finally faltered as Shadow Weaver raised a hand and Catra tried not to visibly brace herself. 

“As you can see, uh, I’m fine. Ma’am.” Catra couldn’t see it but she was absolutely certain Shadow Weaver’s face was twisting into the most disgusting grin under her mask. “And I’m back, so Catra and I can get to work wherever you need us.” Adora was wringing her hands now and Catra almost rolled her eyes. No matter how mad Adora got, she was always a suck up. “Right away. Now.”

“You will go to orientation, Force Captain.” Shadow Weaver commanded, “I still need to have words with Catra.” Adora hesitated and threw Catra a look, a hand twitching up towards the handle of the sword before she forced it back to her side. Catra blinked, was she offering to help? What had happened out there? 

Catra just shook her head very carefully, Adora tensed but gave Shadow Weaver a nod and left the room. Catra released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding when the door closed and Shadow Weaver moved away from her back to the pedestal to stare down into it.

Of course Shadow Weaver couldn’t just tell her what she wanted up front. Instead she let Catra stew in the tension of the room for a while.

“So-” Catra started when it got to be too much for her.

“You will speak when I tell you to, Catra.” Shadow Weaver snapped but didn’t move from her spot over the pedestal basin. “A shame, I had hoped she would take a shine to Scorpia, but it seems I’ll have to make do.”

Shadow Weaver stood up straight and turned to glare at Catra. “She is lying to me. About things of more consequence than just your involvement. So I have a… task for you.” She said it like it was physically painful and Catra wanted to tell her to stuff it just out of spite.

Shadow Weaver made a quick motion for silence before Catra could finish opening her mouth and she nearly bit her tongue as a tendril of darkness pushed her jaw shut. “Complete this task effectively and I may have finally found a proper use for you.” The tendril withdrew and Catra glanced cautiously at Shadow Weaver’s eyes before she spoke.

“Okay, what do you want?” She said as carelessly as possible. There was a part of her- one she wished would just shut up already- that was listening a lot more intently than she wanted to.

“She trusts you, completely.” Shadow Weaver’s eyes narrowed, “and it would seem that trust was at least somewhat well earned.”

“Was that a compliment?” Catra couldn’t help the petulant grin spreading across her face at Shadow Weaver’s glare.

“I’m sure it’s as obvious to you as it is to me that something happened to her out there. You will find out what and report it to me.” Shadow Weaver was suddenly much closer than she had been a second ago and Catra jumped slightly. “When she has told you what happened, go to one of your disgusting hidey holes and contact me with this.” She shoved a small device against Catra’s chest and left her fumbling to catch it before it hit the ground. “She’ll grow suspicious if I begin calling you here regularly, or you begin visiting of your own free will, and if there’s anything I can trust you to do properly, it’s skulk.”

“I didn’t know you thought so highly of me,” Catra drawled, already planning how to ‘accidentally’ break the thing. Like she’d ever go rat on Adora.

“I don’t, but do this correctly and I may.” Catra felt herself freeze, that part of her that held onto Shadow Weaver’s every word now at rapt attention. 

She couldn’t mean. “That’s right,” Shadow Weaver spoke in the too smooth voice she usually saved only for Adora. Catra wanted to hate the thrill she got from hearing it directed at her- she was asking her to betray Adora’s trust. But… didn’t she deserve some of the credit for once? “This is the only chance I will ever give you. Prove yourself now and I assure you, you will be rewarded.”

“...Force Captain?” Catra felt herself speak more than she intended to ask.

“If you want to think that small, Spymaster.”

Catra wished she could say she refused right there, she wished she could say her tail didn’t swish happily at the thought of being Spymaster, that the thought of bringing Adora down a peg or two didn’t make the part of her that wanted Shadow Weaver’s praise more than anything practically cheer at her. She wished for a lot of things, but all she could say was that the promises and hearing Shadow Weaver call her by a title that didn’t sound like a curse hadn’t quite sold her.

It sure as Hordak put her on the fence about something that had seemed so certain just an hour ago, though.

Catra closed her hand tight around the little device and she could tell Shadow Weaver’s smirk was back. “Good. Don’t disappoint me.”


	2. I Haven't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora makes a confession.  
> Catra deliberates her options.  
> And the two of them make a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Covering my butt a little here. I do not believe what Adora says about herself in the first section, but she does and that's the important part.

Adora was beyond anxious. The adrenaline rush had worn off a long time ago, sometime between entering Force Captain Orientation and them telling her that Scorpia was a Princess- which honestly explained a lot about her if Glimmer was any indication.

She hadn’t had a chance to talk to Catra alone yet, and the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if confronting Shadow Weaver about Thaymore even that much had been enough to earn Catra another ‘discipline’ session.

It made her hands itch for the sword, but she knew she couldn’t use it just yet. She hadn’t taken the sword off, no one had asked her to, but right now having it on felt like a lifeline. As long as she had the sword Shadow Weaver didn’t have it, as long as it was on her back her plan for getting out of here again could work.

She didn’t think too hard about what she was going to do. She kept running over the practical components of it in her head, what she would say to sell it to Catra, but she only looked at the consequences of success or failure sideways. Otherwise she was worried she’d lose her nerve, end up folding back into comfortable familiarity instead of striking out into an unknown that she knew would be better for her and Catra both.

The important part was that she was leaving, they were leaving, and the Fright Zone was designed to not let that happen when you had someone important’s attention. Especially Shadow Weaver’s.

So here she was, standing in their abandoned barracks and trying not to pace too obviously.

Even with how her eyes kept flicking over to the door every few seconds Catra was still able to get the drop on her. Adora felt a weight settle on her shoulders from behind a split second before she had to throw out her hands to catch herself. Something about the familiar action broke through the tension in her head and she was choking back laughter before she even hit the ground.

“Hey Adora,” Catra purred as she bounced back off of Adora, taking the sword with her and turning it over in her hands a couple times. “Gotta say, I can see why you wanted to go back for this thing.” She tossed the sword back to Adora as she sat up. “Sorry for calling you brain damaged, I guess.”

Adora caught the sword with considerably more ease than she expected to and was once again surprised by how right it felt in her palm, heavy and solid in her grip, dependable. It still took a couple seconds longer for her to stop giggling. “Should I take back the apology?” Catra asked, crossing her arms but smirking, “you’re still acting kinda weird.”

“I’m fine,” Adora waved her off, slipping the sword onto her back again, “it’s just been a crazy night, is all.” She sighed, steeling herself, “I got worried I wouldn’t see you again a few times.” Catra’s expression darkened for a second before she rolled her eyes.

“Like the giant bug attack. Come on, Adora, I know you can take whatever some dumb forest throws at you.”

“That and… other things.” Adora glanced to either side of the room, but no one seemed to be there. “Hey, can we head up to the roof?”

“Sure, why?” Catra crooked an eyebrow.

“I just-” Adora floundered for a second as she got back to her feet. She couldn’t just say she needed to tell Catra something, not inside where the shadows were darker than they should be and anyone could overhear them. “Scary as this whole thing was, I kinda liked being under the sky. The barracks feel a bit closed off right now.” That was true, but if the way Catra’s easy smirk flattened out for a second as she turned to lead Adora outside was anything to go by she had probably already guessed the real reason.

At least, she hoped. 

Catra had always been better at reading her than she was at reading Catra, or anyone else for that matter. It was almost frustrating. Catra always knew what was going on in her head, but Adora needed things spelled out. It felt like failure when she read Catra wrong or didn’t realize she was hurting, and it made it hard to keep up a strong face when Catra could always see through it with a glance.

As they emerged into open air Adora was struck by how much smaller everything seemed. The smoky clouds above their heads that had seemed endless yesterday felt like a ceiling now, hiding a grander expanse of sky that should have been there. The catwalk which had felt like the furthest she’d ever been from the ground now felt narrow and threatening as a cage. It was like everything had changed overnight, but it hadn’t. She just knew there was more out there now. She knew out there was better than in here.

When she looked back to Catra it felt like all her words dried up. She was watching Adora carefully, curious but worried, with those piercing eyes and that quirk of her brow that Adora could never quite decipher but usually came out when Adora had just made a fool of herself.

The inspirational speech she’d kept running over in her head wouldn’t come out of her mouth and with Catra’s hair drifting in a wind she now knew was harsh with chemicals, all she could think about was the time, years ago, when she’d caught Catra ready to run away, the time she’d convinced her to stay.

It settled like a stone in her throat and her vision started to swim. Catra’s face twisted in shock and Adora tried to sniff away the emotion as Catra reached out to steady her. She was supposed to be up here offering Catra the world, not breaking down, damn it.

“I’m fine, I’m okay, sorry.” She gasped out, rubbing at her eyes now to clear them.

“You sure?” Catra asked, her brow furrowed and her hands clasped around Adora’s arms. “What happened out there?” Adora took a deep breath and forced the tight feeling out of her throat.

“We made a promise.” She started, keeping her voice level as best she could. “We would always look out for each other. We keep each other safe, right?”

“Yeah,” Catra scoffed through a laugh that sounded forced. “What about it?”

“I haven’t held up my end.” Catra blinked and opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but nothing came out and Adora looked away. “I haven’t. You’ve been amazing. You’re always there when I need you. You make me smile, even when we’re mad at each other, no matter how bad things get. I haven’t been like that for you. I’ve tried, but it just hasn’t worked. Training, Shadow Weaver, I could never really do anything about any of it.” A bitter tinge found its way into her voice and Catra’s grip loosened, “but I always thought this was as good as it got. That’s what they always told us. The Fright Zone is the best place in the world. We were supposed to be the good guys, how could anything out there be better?” As Adora struggled for the next words, one of Catra’s hands found hers and squeezed.

“I thought you knew they were lying,” she said softly. “And we were gonna make it true. Together.” Adora shook her head and squeezed back.

“I never would have made you stay if I knew.” She felt Catra freeze but still couldn’t get herself to look. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made you stay, I should have gone with you.”

“Adora, what happened?” Catra demanded.

“I found better, Catra, and it’s out there,” she sucked in a deep breath and steeled herself, finally meeting Catra’s eyes again, “with the Rebellion.”

“What?” Catra yanked her hand back, her wild mane frizzed out and her claws extended. This is why Adora had wanted to have a grand speech, not a tantrum.

“Those two rebels- Glimmer and Bow- they found me, not the other way around. They captured me at first, but, well, the giant bug thing was true. They warmed up to me in _hours_ Catra, they didn’t even bother tying me up for most of the night. They gave me this.” 

She pulled the sword off her back to show it off. “Well, I found it, then they took it when they captured me, but then when Thaymore happened Glimmer just handed it over.” She was rambling and Catra’s raised eyebrow made it pretty obvious she had noticed. “That’s not the point, the point is they’re good, Catra. Even the people I met who weren’t Rebellion were good people.” 

Catra looked away, her mouth twisting into a frown.

“Okay, so we’re the bad guys, now what?” She crossed her arms, closing herself off. Adora had said something wrong, but she couldn’t think what.

“Come with me,” she pleaded. Catra’s gaze snapped back to her, those two-toned eyes wide, disbelieving. “We can leave, no matter what Shadow Weaver does to stop us.” She turned the blade so that it caught some of the weak light filtering through the clouds. “That’s why I asked for the sword when her lackeys came to get me. We can leave, and out there I can finally look out for you the way you’ve been doing for me.”

Catra’s eyes flicked to the sword, then to Adora and she turned away again, thinking. Adora wished again that she could read Catra the way Catra could read her. She could tell something was bothering her, but there was a lot about this that could be doing that, so she didn’t know what to say to help.

All she could do was watch the worried press of her brow, the way her eyes darted to points on the horizon that only meant something to her, the way her arms and tail curled tight around herself, hoping she’d say yes.

“You came back,” Catra finally spoke after a long, tense moment, some coiled, unreadable emotion beneath her voice.

“Of course I did,” Adora reached out to take one of Catra’s hands again. “I couldn’t leave you here, not when I know there’s something I can really do now.”

“If she catches us, it’ll get even worse, for the both of us.” Catra said, but she grasped Adora’s hand tighter, smirking, and the mischievous twinkle she got when she was trying to convince Adora to do something stupid was in her eye.

“Then we’d better not get caught.” Adora said a little breathlessly, a grin finding its way onto her face. “You’re going to love Glimmer, she’s like Lonnie but not a jerk.” Catra rolled her eyes.

“That’s tough to imagine, that Bow kid any better?”

“Bow is the perfect boy.” Adora said with absolute sincerity. The raucous bark of Catra’s laugh came out so fast it ended in a wheeze and suddenly the weight that had settled around Adora’s shoulders lifted. “What?” She teased, bumping Catra’s shoulder with her own, “it’s true,” Catra tried to hold in a snicker so Adora kept digging. “He’s everything I’ve always wanted to be,” that had Catra howling again. “He’s brave, kind, and totally unafraid to rock a crop top in a war zone.”

“Mercy!” Catra coughed out, “does he _actually do that?_ ”

“Absolutely, full midriff exposure and it’s got a big, red heart right over his chest.” Catra dissolved into giggles again. “He wears one pauldron and his boots have little hearts on the bottoms, too. He is the ultimate friend and boy.” Adora made sure Catra couldn’t stop laughing for the next ten minutes. She almost felt like apologizing to Bow when they met up next, chances were Catra wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face around him for a month.

But seeing Catra like this, the familiar warm feeling in her chest made her think it was probably worth it.

* * *

Adora’s plan had been simple. A little too simple. Catra was walking, talking proof that Shadow Weaver was keeping an extra close eye on her now. She couldn’t get away with just casually stealing a set of keys in the middle of the night like last time. Not with Shadow Weaver watching for it now, no matter how much extra firepower ‘the Scary Lady’ gave her to deal with the guards. Catra still had to tamp down a grin thinking about that.

_“‘The Scary Lady,’ really?”_

_“Glimmer called her that first. I think the real name is She-Ra or something, but I’m not sure.”_

So the next morning, rested and keen, Catra mulled over their options as she looked through her locker, trying to decide if she had anything worth bringing with. Even if they could take one, the skiffs would be a problem. They made sure an escape on foot would be caught before they could make it halfway across the Wastes, and if they were in a skiff themselves there were no obstacles to lose a tail in, or ways to hide, until they hit the Whispering Woods, so pursuit would be all too easy for Shadow Weaver to mount.

They’d need to destroy the skiffs, no matter how they escaped, or they’d never make it. That would make too much noise for Catra’s tastes, though. Even without the skiffs, there were still tanks and robots to consider. Catra didn’t think any of them could fly yet, but Hordak was famously obsessed with improving on his designs.

She traced a finger around Shadow Weaver’s device in her pocket. Would she have thought to put a tracker in it?

Part of her wanted to just break the thing and get it over with. She wasn’t going to tell Shadow Weaver anything Adora had told her on the roof, not until they were already gone and she could brag, anyways. There was still that other part of her, though, the one that kept thinking about how hearing her guardian call her Spymaster had felt, that wanted to keep it. It would be insurance, if this was a trap.

It could still be a trap. No matter how much Adora liked these Rebels she was entirely too optimistic, she always had been. Who was to say they weren’t just hoping to capture both the newest Force Captain and the person who’d be most likely to come looking for her in one fell swoop?

She nodded to herself, ignoring the sinking feeling in her gut as she made up her mind. She wouldn’t get rid of it, not yet. A bitter smile stretched across her face as she closed her locker. At least Shadow Weaver would be looking out for her this once.

She shook her head, that was a concern for later, for now she still had to figure out how to get them out of here.

They had three days until the window of opportunity closed, counting today. That wasn’t an especially long time to learn the new guard shifts, which would definitely have been changed if Shadow Weaver had been smart enough to think her golden child would try to escape. Catra already knew where all the cameras were, every blind corner and broom closet she could use to make sure they wouldn’t be seen until they were in the hangar, but given the timeframe this was still going to have to be ridiculously tight.

As she headed back to the barracks, Catra passed a pair of guards. She didn’t stop, but she did blink at their impressively nondescript helmets and armour. Now there was an idea. She kept a nonchalant pep in her step all the way back to their bunk. Adora was sitting up on their bed, reading a book they’d apparently given her at the end of Force Captain orientation with such intensity Catra would think she was still planning to be here at the end of the week if she didn’t know better.

Catra rolled her eyes at her. If she’d been made Force Captain they wouldn’t have been able to catch her dead at that snoozefest, much less studying afterwards.

“Adora,” she said as she flopped down across her lap, “how do you feel about stakeouts?”

“They’re alright, why?” Adora replied, not looking up from her book, but a hand already drifting down to play with Catra’s hair.

“Cause I think I just found the perfect place to practice.” That got Adora to put down the book, that intense, absolute attention shifting to Catra. It made her stomach do something funny and her hair actually need the smoothing Adora was giving it. Luckily Catra had practice in keeping those moments off of Adora’s radar.

“You’ve got a plan?”

“I think so, but I’m gonna need your sword.” Adora hesitated, Catra could already tell she didn’t like being away from it. She kept checking over her shoulder like it might fall off and she’d put it under her pillow last night despite the fact that it didn’t even fit, it was her weird version of a security blanket. “Just until we’re ready to leave.”

“Okay. _Don't_ lose it.” Adora reached up and pulled off the sword, handing it over.

Catra took it, turning it over in her hands a couple more times. She was still surprised by how light it felt. It looked weighty in Adora’s hands, like she was confident it could smash through anything if she swung it hard enough. In Catra’s it felt a little lopsided, too much weight in the handle, not enough in the blade, but overall still light as a feather. She tapped the guard a couple times to hear the solid clink of her claws off metal. Apparently they just built magic swords weird.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll show you where you’ll be hanging out while I put this baby somewhere safe.”

* * *

Catra’s idea of a good stakeout position and hers were pretty different, but Adora had to admit, even with how cramped the vent over the door to the hangar was she had a great view of the halls leading up to it without giving away her position. As long as she kept perfectly still, anyways. Catra had needed to walk past it whistling loudly to mask the sound of her getting into position.

She didn’t know how Catra made moving quietly look so easy. There was only one place in the Fright Zone, that Adora knew of anyways, where she couldn’t get in and out unnoticed. Which meant wherever she was putting the sword it was definitely going to be safe until they needed it.

Thinking about the sword made something in Adora’s chest tighten. Not knowing where it was, was going to drive her insane. The vent felt small enough without the help of how wrong it felt to be away from the sword. She quietly huffed to herself, she’d had the thing for a day and a half, and she was already getting separation anxiety over it.

She shook her head and put her focus back on the guards to try and keep her mind off of it. Another thing she was already missing about the outside was that out there the moons helped keep time. Here in the sterile, fluorescent-lit halls it was impossible to tell how long she’d been sitting in this vent without checking the watch Catra had given her, and she had to move to do that, so she was trying to avoid it unless absolutely necessary. So all she really knew was that she had settled into her spot around noon.

She spotted movement on both ends of the hallway and blinked herself back to attention, watching carefully.

The guards in front of the door visibly relaxed as they noticed the other two coming towards them, a shift change. Adora moved carefully to check the watch; 18:00 hours, almost on the dot. She nodded to herself. Consistency was the lifeblood of the Fright Zone; the routines were dependable, and the order was absolute. It was the thing Adora liked most about this place. It was probably the only thing she’d really miss when she left.

Well, the only thing she wasn’t taking with her that she’d miss.

She marked the time again once the guards who’d been there all afternoon were out of sight.

If the shift change happened at this time tonight, it would happen at the same time every night, like clockwork.

Now she just had to wait for an opportunity to leave without being noticed.

It was more than a little unsettling how quiet it had been and still was, if she was honest with herself. Even the hangar on the other side of the doors had been silent for her entire vigil. She wondered if the skiffs were on lockdown until Shadow Weaver felt confident enough Adora wouldn’t leave again.

Adora felt a twinge of guilt in her chest. If Shadow Weaver had put out a Hold Order, that was a lot of people going without a resupply today, or however long she decided she was going to wait. She shook her head slightly, a lot of soldiers of a tyrannical regime who’d have to avoid sacking anything, there was no reason for her to feel guilty over that. Even less reason to feel guilty over having made Shadow Weaver worried enough to do it.

So she pushed aside the thoughts of how long it would take to get the soldiers she’d just been to a seminar about looking after back up to form after a week of missed supply drops and focused on waiting for another opening to leave.

Which she didn’t end up getting until Catra walked past the hall pretending to have an argument into a communicator nearly an hour later. As Adora turned to go she froze for a second. She would have sworn she just saw something glinting yellow in the dark, but as she looked more closely she couldn’t see anything.

* * *

Catra was giving her setup on the roof a last once-over when Adora arrived, her brows pinched tight and her fingers fidgeting. Catra almost rolled her eyes at her before she realized her own tail was coiled around her leg and corrected that, deciding to focus on Adora instead.

“About time you got here,” she gestured to the small diagram of the hangar and the surrounding hallways she’d made in the dust and grit that had settled up on the walkway.

“Wow,” Adora’s eyes lit up like Catra had just handed her a lump of gold. “You’re really taking this seriously.”

“Well yeah,” Catra scoffed, turning back to the diagram to keep Adora from seeing just how pleased with herself she was, “this is our ticket to better things, right?” Adora nodded and sat down on the other side of it, that laser-focus entirely on Catra again.

She swallowed before she started talking, “anyways. I hid your sword in a grate underneath the skiff we’re gonna take,” Catra told her, gesturing to a spot on the diagram. “I did a little scouting, too. There are two sets of guards other than the ones at the main entrance. There’s a squad of two here at the service entrance, and a squad of four spread out from here to here in the loading dock.”

“Well, they’re not on the same rotation schedule,” Adora grabbed at her elbow, settling her other hand on her chin, “or their replacements use the service entrance, the only people I saw in the hall were the two who came to relieve the guards there.” Adora’s lip gave a twitch down, her eyes narrowed with dissatisfaction. Catra waved a hand, deciding to cut her off at the pass before she could suggest more stakeouts.

“Even if we had the time to map out all of their schedules, the plan we need that for won’t work on the crew at the loading dock, there’s too many of them. And if we’re waiting around for everybody’s replacement to show, the first group we take out will definitely wake up before we’re gone.”

“So, we’re doing this the loud way?” Adora asked, rubbing her hands together and sounding a little more excited than Catra would have expected from her.

“No, weirdo, I wouldn’t have bothered stashing the sword if we were doing that.” Adora’s face scrunched up in the way it did when she was trying not to look disappointed. Catra chuckled, giving Adora a quick shove in the shoulder, “don’t worry, bruiser. You’re still gonna get to knock a few heads.”

“Heh,” Adora rubbed her shoulder, “that obvious, huh?”

“You wanna show off your new toy,” Catra shrugged, “I would, too. We still need to be smart about this. So I need everything you picked up during the stakeout, and I mean everything.” Adora nodded and braced her hands on her knees, her back straightening a little.

Catra had seen her ‘reporting in’ face hundreds of times, but being on the receiving end of it was weird. She went sort of blank, just regurgitating information without even a hint of what she thought about any of it. The fact that had broken was what changed her telling Shadow Weaver about where she’d gone from just an annoyed report into an outright confrontation.

When she was finished going over what little there was, Catra began to smell a trap. “Both the hallways those two came down have blind spots before the turn.” She pointed to the corners of the map, “we can hide in those and when the rotation shows up we’ll take them out quietly and steal their armour.” 

The blind spots were actually a little weird in this case, perfectly symmetrical if you looked at them radiating out from the hangar. The others were all spotty, like they existed where somebody during construction had said ‘good enough’ and just left it. Those two looked almost deliberate in comparison. She couldn’t be certain, though, she could have just been seeing patterns where there weren’t any, and they were on an annoyingly tight deadline so she’d keep her suspicions to herself for now.

“And the other guards?” Adora asked.

“We can just barricade the service entrance once we’re inside, it’s the guys in the loading dock we’ve really got to worry about. There’s too many of them to take out at once, and they aren’t just standing around in there. Their paths cross a lot so we can’t take them out one at a time without any of them getting suspicious.” Catra growled to herself a little as she scratched out their paths in the dirt.

“The point is to keep them from raising the alarm, right?” Adora made a considering noise and Catra looked up. Adora’s eyes were flicking to the corners of the map. “Where’s the closest alarm to them?” Catra hummed to herself and scratched out spots of the map to indicate alarms.

“Think just keeping them from pulling those will be enough?”

“The loading docks are filled with all kinds of important things. Supplies, vehicles,” Adora grinned up at Catra, “explosives. If they’ve been trained half as well as we were they won’t risk a weapons discharge in there, so their only option for getting people outside the hangar’s attention is the alarms.”

“What’ve you got?”

“I’ll bet She-Ra’s a good motivator. If I bring her out the best course of action for them would be for three to try and take me down while the fourth goes for the alarm.” Adora smiled like she was invincible, but magic sword or no, three on one was still three on one. Catra felt her brow furrow and her tail lash. “You can take out the runner while I deal with the other three.”

“I don’t like that,” Catra let herself growl, looking over the paths she’d seen them taking. “Three on one will take too long, even without them shooting that’s too much time for someone to hear the struggle and pull the alarm from outside.”

Being outnumbered was always a liability, but that was the math they were working with right now. The guard’s paths were too tight to single any of them out, there was no way to take the advantage.

“Huh,” Adora murmured, drawing Catra’s eyes back up to her. “We’re thinking about this wrong. They’re too solid of a unit for us to take one at a time, but that doesn’t mean we have to worry about all four of them at once.” She looked to where Adora was pointing, the spots where the guards passed each other.

“What are you getting at?”

“If we can’t get the upper hand, we should be looking to even the playing field.” She drew lines between the circuits the guards took. “We can hit them two on two where the first pair pass each other, then split up to take out the others one on one before they can reach the spots where they would pass the first.” Catra’s eyes widened a little and she felt a grin stretch across her face.

“And we can get between the points faster than they can, we can cut across instead of making the full loop.”

“It’ll have to be done quicker than any other option,” Adora looked back up, that invincible smile back, “but it’s probably the best idea we’ll have.”

“I’ll bail you out if you’re not fast enough,” Catra reached across to muss up Adora’s hair a little.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Adora shot back, leaning into the touch just slightly enough that Catra was pretty sure she didn’t even notice she was doing it. Adora’s smile softened a little as she turned to look out towards the horizon, her brow pinching.

“Something else?” Catra asked, Adora got that look when she thought she should be doing something but wasn’t.

“No, just, this time tomorrow, we’ll be out there.” Adora’s expression hardened a little, “we have to be.”

Catra rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the fact that she knew exactly the roiling feeling that Adora was no doubt getting in her chest. She shifted to sit next to her, her tail swishing away any evidence of their little planning session. She pressed her shoulder against Adora’s, drawing her to match Catra’s lean.

“Good riddance,” she said, projecting confidence and bravado to make sure Adora wouldn’t start second-guessing herself.

“Yeah,” Adora chuckled, but in the flat, hollow way she did when she wasn’t feeling it. Catra let her eyes narrow a little before she settled herself against Adora’s side a bit more.

“Tell me more about Thaymore,” she asked, less because she was curious and more because she knew Adora needed the distraction. “Before Shadow Weaver blew it up.”

Adora latched onto it just like Catra knew she would, talking about all the weirdly quaint things she was excited to show Catra once they left. The highlight of which was apparently something called a ‘horse.’

Catra checked the set of Adora’s shoulder against hers. Content with having managed to distract her, she began to doze a little. The thing Catra thought would probably be the highlight of leaving was that they could have more moments like these, only without having to worry about Shadow Weaver catching them, under a warm, clear sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Concerning update schedules. The last of the three setup chapters will be out next Sunday, but after that I plan to update either monthly or bi-weekly. Monthly is more likely as I have many things that need doing.


	3. Jumping at Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora has a very stressful day.  
> Catra meets She-Ra and the Rebellion.  
> The Alliance is broken before they arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up much, much longer than I intended for two reasons and might be a bit sloppy as a result. The first is because I realized having Adora return to Thaymore-and one other thing in this chapter- actually makes the episode Razz redundant, so now I have to find another origin for Swift Wind and I can't count Razz as a non-setup chapter like I was planning to. The second is because their escape ended up taking around 5000 words all from Adora's perspective and I couldn't neglect my girl Catra like that.

Adora was starting to get really sick of the whole stealth thing. At least she wasn’t hanging out in a vent this time, but having to look over her shoulder every second and a half for fear she’d seen someone was already exhausting, and every time she saw a camera or another person her skin started to crawl like a thousand centipedes had decided it would be fun to live in her clothes.

Catra had called the side with the vent in a heartbeat, leaving Adora to hide out in a maintenance closet. She would have more room to move, and if she was honest with herself she’d take that over being able to drop on her opponent’s head any day. She still didn’t have the sword, though, which was starting to make her blood boil with frustration, but she had her training, and the element of surprise.

As soon as she walked into where Catra had told her the camera’s blind spot started she ducked into the closet- ignoring the tiny cleaning drones that beeped indignantly at her arrival- and checked her watch.

17:55, the guard would be coming by any second now. She set her stance, grabbed the handle and kept the door cracked just slightly enough for her to see out. Moments later she heard the telltale sound of boots against the concrete floor. Keeping her periphery on the bottom of the door to watch for their shadow, she pressed a button on the side of her watch, starting the timer. There would be a ten minute window of error here. She had to subdue her opponent, take off their armour, put it on, and report to her spot at the same time as Catra, 18:05 at latest.

A steel door normally makes a great deal of noise when it hits something, but if one keeps their shoulder pressed to it and hits with the full brunt squared against the target, it vibrates much, much less.

This was why when Adora spotted her opponent she waited until the last possible moment to shove and braced herself, expecting a good, hefty thunk.

What she was not expecting, was for her opponent to go flying, or for the handle to nearly break off the door in her hand.

The guard hit the other end of the hall with an entirely too loud clang and a woozy groan before slumping to the ground. Adora winced and hissed through her teeth, waiting to see if anyone came to investigate.

After she had wasted a full minute on standing completely still and hoping no one would notice her she released the door and crept out into the hall, grabbing her victim by the ankles and dragging them back into the closet with her. She wasted another few seconds inspecting the door and seeing if she could bend the lever back into position. Unfortunately, whatever superstrength had suddenly taken hold of her had left just as quickly, so the door was effectively nonfunctional now.

From the inside, anyways, she thought, turning back to the still unconscious guard. “Sorry about that,” she muttered to them as she crouched down to remove their helmet. They were human, luckily. She’d seen this person around a little and counted herself doubly lucky they probably hadn’t had enough time to even see her- much less recognize her- before she knocked them out. 

The armour was formatted right for someone of her build, but it was just a tiny bit shorter than she was, so it was a little tight. She’d have to unhook the pauldrons from the sleeves and separate the kneeplates once they were in the hangar to preserve her range of movement. She huffed a little to herself and hoped she wouldn’t pop the straps before the guards on duty had already left.

As she moved to tie them up, Adora was struck with a sudden question. Had this person been like her? Did they know any way other than the Horde’s? If they did, did they not care, or were they just surviving because they didn’t know how to leave?

She shook the thoughts from her head. If she went too far down that rabbit hole she’d be trying to bring half the Fright Zone with her. She didn’t have that kind of time, and the fewer people knew what was happening, the less likely they were to be stopped. Her heart lurched as her mind drifted to the rest of her squad, but she knew for a fact that Lonnie couldn’t keep a secret from Rogelio, Rogelio couldn’t keep a secret from Kyle, and Kyle just couldn’t keep a secret at all. Not to mention Shadow Weaver would be watching them just as closely as she was watching Adora.

It felt like something dark and ugly was roiling under her skin. Something that wanted to march up to Shadow Weaver and… she didn’t quite know yet, but it would be violent.

She shook her head and shoved on the helmet, stuffing her hair up into the back of it. Showtime.

She checked the watch, 18:02, it was too late for her to check if Catra was ready, she’d just have to move in three minutes and hope she was. In the meantime, she awkwardly closed the closet and hoped someone would think to look there once they noticed the skiffs had been sabotaged.

Her watch beeped once she was out of time and she marched out, her shoulders squared, the guard’s weapon at the ready, and her eyes forwards.

She spotted Catra slinking out the other side of the hall, her tail was hidden under the armour, but no one other than Catra would have slung her stun baton so carelessly over her shoulder. She was suddenly very glad that no one could see her face, because her expression was probably one of utter horror. She was going to get them caught, guards didn’t hold their weapons like that.

Yet somehow, miraculously, when the guards at the doors noticed Catra they relaxed, then stiffened a little when they looked to Adora. She blinked but kept herself straight and at attention. The guards stared at the two of them for a long moment before one of them reached out and clapped Catra on the shoulder.

“Sorry you’ve got a shift with this narc,” they snipped, gesturing back towards Adora.

“I’m used to it,” Catra said back, smooth as anything. “She gets bored easy. Give it an hour and she’ll be asking me to look the other way so she can pull out the crossword.”

Adora wasn’t sure whether to be offended or impressed, so she settled for playing up the angle they were expecting.

“Don’t you two have somewhere to be?” She asked, trying to channel the panic still thrumming in her veins into exasperation. They laughed at her, but still headed off down the hall.

Once they were out of sight she turned to Catra. “What was that?”

“They’ve been standing here for six hours straight,” Catra shrugged. “You either need to have your spine sanded to regulation length or be on a punishment detail to do that without at least stretching at some point. I bet on punishment detail.” She let out a chuckle, “looks like I was right.” Adora felt another twinge of guilt for the guard she’d tied up but pushed it down, there wasn’t time.

“Well, good work,” Adora nodded, turning to enter the code that would open the door into the hangar. “Now we get to do the hard part.”

The door slid out to the sides, revealing the room beyond it. The inside of the hangar was one of the most expansive spaces in the Fright Zone. It needed to be to house not only dozens of flying vehicles, but also crates upon crates of supplies gathered from outside the Horde stacked almost all the way up to the ceiling. Adora spared one last glance over her shoulder before she let the door close behind them. “Okay, where’s the sword?”

“Just a second,” Catra murmured, Adora winced as turning to look at Catra made the plates around her knees pinch at her. She decided to take the time to undo the straps, letting the plates hang more or less loose around her shoulders and knees, but at least the pinching wouldn’t happen in a fight.

Catra tore open the control panel for the door, driving her claws into it and yanking out a bundle of wires. “That’ll work.” She tossed the mangled circuitry aside before turning back to Adora. “Follow me, and start pulling fuel lines.” Catra took the left side of the column, so Adora slid into the right. “We don’t have to get all of them, just enough that they have to check all of them before anyone’s allowed off the ground.”

For Catra, breaking the fuel lines was pretty simple, she just had to pull off her gloves and slip her claws under the chassis of every skiff they passed. Adora had less of an easy time of it. She pulled the standard knife from the armour’s belt and slid it under where she thought Catra had done it, but it wouldn’t catch anything. She huffed to herself, crouching down to get a closer look and managed to cut it on the second attempt. Then she had to do the same thing for every skiff she passed. Catra had already hit the first turn by the time Adora was halfway down her line.

Catra crossed her arms and Adora could just imagine the smirk on her face. She rolled her eyes, if she had the sword she’d bet she could just hack these things in half and be done with it. Catra waited for her, though whether that was because she wanted to tease her or to make sure they didn’t get separated, Adora couldn’t tell.

“Sorry,” she muttered when she caught up, Catra just waved her off with a chuckle, showing off her claws.

“Not everybody’s born lucky like me, I guess. Come on, our’s is just over here, and so’s your sword.” Catra continued to casually cut tubes in the skiffs they passed until she came to one with a scratch along the sail-like spire on its back end. When she ducked underneath it Adora looked around to check if there was anyone in sight.

There was practically a wall of crates between the storage space and the loading dock itself, which she found herself beyond grateful for. She might not have been able to see the guards over there, but that meant they couldn’t see her, either.

She found herself wondering where all this stuff was actually coming from. They’d always been told it was given as payment or thanks from the various holdings under Horde protection. At least, Adora had always been told that. She grit her teeth as she realized it was probably just whatever the soldiers could carry from those towns after they’d been destroyed. She was drawn out of her thoughts by a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye and snapped around to face it, her baton at the ready, but there was nothing when she looked.

“Ugh,” she growled to herself, “I’m jumping at shadows.” She thought about that phrase for a second longer and shuddered, amending her statement, “I’m jumping at nothing.”

“Something wrong?” Catra asked, crawling back out from under the skiff with the sword in her hand. She passed it over to Adora as she stood.

“No, I just thought I saw something,” Adora caught the sword and felt the tension in her gut subtly uncurl.

“Did you?” Catra’s head jerked from side to side as she scanned their surroundings as well.

“No, I’m just on edge.” Adora put the baton down on the back of their skiff, grasping the sword with both hands to get a feel for the weight of it again. “We gonna go deal with those other guards now?” Catra nodded.

“I’ll get up somewhere high to watch the ones in the loading dock, you go seal off the maintenance entrance. Be quick about it, you don’t want me having all the fun, do you?” Adora nodded and raised a fist.

“Be safe,” she said, Catra’s head moved like she was rolling her eyes but she tapped Adora’s fist with her own.

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t make me worry about you.”

“Aw, you worry about me?” Adora teased and she was sure if it’d been free Catra’s tail would have fluffed up indignantly.

“No, shut up, we’re not getting sappy right now.” Catra snapped and took off before Adora could say anything more. She chuckled to herself, turning towards the opposite direction and settling the sword across her back again.

The maintenance entrance was different from the front one in a lot of ways. The first of which was the fact that this one had an actual handle, it opened outwards instead of drawing sideways into the wall, and it was much smaller. She puzzled over how to seal it off without making enough noise to alert the guards on the other side for a long minute until she spotted a length of chain hanging off of a crate nearly twice Adora’s height. She grinned to herself, that would work.

Taking the loose end of the chain, she looped it around the handle of the door until it pulled taut with the crate. They’d have to pull the whole crate in order to open the door, which might just end up sealing the door anyways. She gave it an experimental tug and it held fast.

Nodding to herself, she turned to head back towards Catra, only stopping twice to cut a few more important looking wires or tubes in the skiffs she passed.

She knew better than to look low when searching for Catra on the lookout. Catra liked to perch up high when she was observing things, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to find her clinging to the side of a crate halfway up the wall of them separating the storage area from the loading dock, peering around the side to keep watch. It was a little surprising that she wasn’t wearing the boots from her disguise anymore, though.

“Catra,” Adora hissed up at her, Catra’s head turned to look down at her. “Are we good to make our move yet? Also, why’d you take off the boots?”

“We can move in just a second, and because it’s easier to climb like this.” Catra dropped back to the ground, quiet as a whisper, and pulled off the helmet, letting her hair spill out across her shoulders. “It’s also easier to whisper without this stupid thing on.” Adora glanced around for a second.

“Don’t we still need these?”

“We’re already in,” Catra shrugged, “so not really. Not like we can back out now anyways, right?” 

“I guess,” Adora murmured, but her still tense nerves kept her from taking off the helm.

Catra held up her hand for her to hold position and Adora nodded, taking the sword off her back to steel herself. At a silent count of three, she gestured for them to move forwards and the two of them whipped around the corner. They ducked behind and around scattered crates and machinery as they approached the spot where the guard’s paths would intersect.

Adora caught a flash of the ceiling lights reflecting off one of the guard’s visors as she moved behind a control console, her spot for the ambush, ten paces. She looked across to Catra on the other side of the console and held up her free hand as she counted off footfalls in her head. Five, four, three, two, her arm came down and the two of them were in motion at the same instant.

Adora went low as Catra went high. She swung the sword out to sweep her opponent’s feet out from under them, seeing Catra jump and latch her claws around the other guard’s helmet as she passed over their head out of the corner of her eye, yanking them off balance as she landed behind them.

Adora’s opponent stumbled but recovered quickly. Not as quick as Catra would have, though. When they made to slam her with their shoulder to get some space Adora was already shifting out of the way to let them stumble past her.

Catra had honestly spoiled her, Adora thought to herself as she brought the pommel of the sword down against the back of the guard’s helmet as they passed. It was hard to find somebody harder to keep a hold of in a fight than Catra. This guy was child’s play compared to her.

Then they did something both unexpected and stupid. As they whirled back around to face Adora head-on again they whipped their stun baton off their hip one handed, shoulder set to fire even before they had it up to their eye.

Point blank, Adora felt her gut sink, there would be no dodging the shot at this distance, and even if they missed who knew what it would hit. Her arm twitched before she really knew what was happening. The electric crack of the baton firing a ranged shot sounded out at the same instant that a flash of blue swooped across her field of vision. The bolt of green energy hit the flat of the sword and fizzled out with a melodic clang.

Both Adora and the guard jumped and stared at the blade for a second, stunned. Adora took in two important pieces of information at once. This guard was more than a little trigger happy, and the sword could withstand the shots.

She grinned to herself, even if the sword could protect her the best counterplay would be to stay too close to get an easy shot off on, force them to shift it into melee configuration instead. She surged forwards at the same time as the guard tried to get a new bead on her. Wielding the sword with both hands now, she batted the baton aside with the flat and made for the swing across their chest, but the guard ducked under the swing and came up with a knee aimed at her stomach.

She couldn’t give them room to breathe, so she took the hit, trusting the stolen armour to keep her from getting winded. Taking a hand off the sword she reached up to grab at their arm holding the baton, yanking it in under her armpit and shoving up. They yelped as their shoulder was pulled into an awkward position, but their grip on the baton didn’t loosen and they took advantage of the angle she was forced to move in to punch her in the side of the neck.

She flinched and released their bound arm, glad they’d missed her throat. They tried to move back a bit too hastily and she took advantage of the opening to make another sweep for their legs. This time it struck true and they tripped over the strike, landing flat on their back. Adora was on them in an instant, pressing a boot to their wrist to keep them from bringing the baton to bear again. She raised the sword and they put their free arm up to shield their face.

Adora hesitated. This person was just doing their job, it was hardly their fault they were in her way. Not three days ago she probably would have admired them for standing to fight when ambushed, even if they’d taken a risk by firing their baton around important flammable material. This didn’t feel right.

The sword began to fall from its poised spot, but Adora was spared any further deliberation by a second baton being shoved into the space between the guard’s helmet and shoulder plate, jamming into their neck and letting out a soft zap. The guard stiffened and shouted before going limp, unconscious. Adora looked up to find Catra glaring at her.

“You choked,” she snapped, pulling her baton out from between the guard’s plates and scooping up their fallen one.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Commit.” Catra stood up straight and offered Adora the handle of the baton. “That sword’s cool and all, but if you don’t mean it you’re going to be useless.”

“Yeah,” she accepted the baton and tried to put some steel back in her voice. Catra’s expression softened a little.

“I didn’t know you had reflexes like that. Let’s make use of them.” She pressed a hand to Adora’s shoulder, “one more for each of us and we’re out of here. Meet you at the skiff?” Adora just nodded, not quite trusting her voice.

Catra was right, this was necessary, no matter how it made her stomach twist. “Meet you at the skiff.” Catra gave her a searching look before turning to go and Adora was glad she’d kept her helmet. Catra would probably have been able to pick out every single individual doubt swirling in the maelstrom of her head if she hadn’t.

She shook herself and tried to remember where the next point of the loop was.

She could do this, she had to do this. Remembering the rush of power from the last time she used it properly, she raised the sword aloft and murmured, “for the honor of Greyskull.” The sword didn’t respond. Adora felt her brow crease but shook it off. Maybe she just needed to be able to see her opponent for it to take hold.

Once she made it to her next ambush point she tried to think fierce, psyching herself up to take out this one. She could do this, it would be easy. Just turn into She-Ra, give them a solid punch to the side of the head, and be on her way, no need for it to get any more complicated than that. “Okay, let’s go, let’s go,” she murmured to herself as she heard the guard’s footfalls getting closer.

She bounced on her feet to get her blood pumping, but it was already roaring in her ears so she wasn’t sure how much more help that would be. She turned the sword over in one hand and the baton in the other before gripping them both tight. The guard made a confused noise when they reached the turn and didn’t see anyone else there, that was her queue.

She whipped around the corner, raising the sword high and shouting, “for the Honor of Greyskull!”

The guard stared at her, their hands up like she was some kind of dangerous animal they were more worried about placating than getting away from. The sword didn’t do anything.

Adora felt embarrassment flash hot around her ears. Well. This one would just have to die, no one could know about this. She was beyond relieved that Catra was on the other side of the hangar right now, she would have never let her live this down.

“Uhh, what was that?” The guard asked, gesturing to the sword, “where did you even get that thing?” She shook herself out of her stupor and lunged. The guard yelped and tried to brace their armoured forearm to take the hit from the sword. The blade glanced off with a clatter, but the weight of it was still enough to break open their guard and Adora shoved the baton against their neck before she could think about it any more, giving them a heavy zap and watching them collapse with a pained wheeze.

Adora waited a couple seconds longer but they didn’t move to rise, which made something clench unpleasantly in her chest. She yanked off her helmet and tossed it aside with a frustrated groan. Why did this have to feel so weird? If they’d been training she would have been able to take these people down without hesitation. But this wasn’t sparring, this was for keeps.

She groaned again, she was just doing what she had to do, why was that so difficult?

“And you,” she brought up the sword, glaring at it, “can’t you just work with me?” She clipped the baton onto her belt so she could drag a free hand down her face, “and now I’m talking to a sword.” She took a deep breath to try and steady herself again.

It didn’t matter, that was the last of the guards. There was no one left between her and freedom. She still sat the guard up against a crate so they didn’t wake up awkwardly sprawled on the ground before she began to make her way back to the skiff they were going to take.

“I’m jumping at shadows!” Adora flinched, looking around. That had been her voice, but it was coming from somewhere up ahead. She gripped her sword with both hands and moved cautiously forward.

“Who’s there?”

“I’m jumping at shadows!” Her voice repeated, this time from somewhere above her head. She jerked her head up. Clinging to the wall of crates separating the loading dock from the rest of the hangar was a small, childlike creature, glowing yellow eyes staring at her with a disdainful sort of glee.

“What the?” She lowered the sword.

“-I’m talking to a- shadow-” the creature spoke in her voice again, but it was choppy, like it had spliced its sentence together from two different ones. The creature grinned and Adora felt a chill down her spine. It’s talking to a shadow, what was it yammering about? “Adora,” it drawled in Shadow Weaver’s voice and she froze. Shadow Weaver, this thing had talked to Shadow Weaver.

“Catra,” she breathed, not sparing a second longer before she bolted around the crates, shouting. “Catra! Shadow Weaver knows, she’s coming! We have to go now!”

“Catra! Catra! Catra!” The thing echoed mockingly from its perch, but Adora put it out of her mind, concentrating on just running full tilt towards the skiff.

Adora heard the roar of the engine sputtering to life and let herself feel a bit of relief, Shadow Weaver hadn’t caught Catra yet. She turned another corner as Catra brought the skiff swooping in front of her, her hair and eyes wild with excitement. Adora felt a comfortable warmth gathering in her as she looked up at Catra’s offered hand. They were going to make it, they were going to be okay.

“Really now, Adora, I would have expected you to know better.” The warm feeling vanished as red light flashed past her head, wrapping around Catra and freezing her in place. The skiff’s engine sputtered but didn’t turn off as Catra was lifted into the air on a tide of red-rimmed darkness. “And you, Catra, I just finished teaching you this lesson, do you honestly need another reminder?”

Adora whipped around, her knuckles white with how hard she was clutching the sword and an icy terror gathering down in her bones. Shadow Weaver loomed at the end of the row, drifting steadily closer. Her outstretched hand glowed the same red that had veiled Catra’s body as she beaconed with it, drawing Catra frozen through the air towards her.

“Let her go!” Adora tried to shout, but it came out small and terrified.

“What have I told you about going behind my back, Adora?” Shadow Weaver sneered, narrowing her eyes as the energy around Catra crackled. “Secrets get good soldiers hurt, child.” She turned her narrowed eyes towards Catra, “and bad soldiers killed.” She raised the glowing hand, red lightning snapping up and down her arm.

Adora felt that dark, angry thing under her skin flare. It wasn’t fair, this had been her mistake. She had seen that awful little creature twice and thought nothing of it, and now Catra was about to pay the price for Adora’s failings. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t _Right._ She lifted the sword high, her eyes locked on Shadow Weaver’s mask and something that felt like Justice burning in her veins.

“For the Honor of Greyskull!” She roared, and the world erupted in light.

* * *

Blind panic gripped Catra’s mind; she should have known better, this could never have worked. She was dead, she was beyond dead, and who even knew what weird thing Shadow Weaver was going to do with the both of their heads when this was over.

Adora’s shout pierced through her terror, if only because it was utterly baffling. What did honor have to do with any of this, and what in the world was Greyskull? She tried to turn her head, but Shadow Weaver was keeping Catra’s eyes locked on her so she had to try and gather what was happening through her reaction to it.

A flash of brilliant white light flared across everything, making Shadow Weaver have to cover her eyes for a moment. When she lowered her arm her eyes widened and her voice came out awestruck and simpering, a step beyond even what she did when she was praising Adora to anyone who would listen.

“Adora-”

The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion to Catra, even though Shadow Weaver didn’t even get the chance to raise her hands again to defend herself.

Catra heard concrete crack and a rush of air before a fist the size of her entire head- wrapped in a golden vambrace and glowing with pale yellow light- all but roared past her.

Shadow Weaver’s eyes went wide in the spare instant before the blow hit her square in the chest, practically folding the sorceress in half around her fist with a crackling boom like an airbag going off. The spell holding Catra frozen disappeared all at once but before she could even hit the ground She-Ra was following through, shoving at Shadow Weaver’s ribcage with the might of a Goddess and sending the witch flying backwards through the air.

Catra’s feet touched the ground a mere second before Shadow Weaver’s body hit a crate and disappeared in a cloud of splintered wood and twisted metal.

For a moment Catra could only stare slack-jawed at the hole She-Ra had put through the crate. That traitorous part of her twisted with concern for her guardian and she winced, but it was drowned out by a potent mixture of relief and disbelief. She saw white and gold move out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at She-Ra.

She-Ra didn’t quite look like Adora, she looked like the perfected idea of Adora. There wasn’t a blemish on her or hair out of place despite the way both it and her scarlet cape billowed in some unfelt wind, and she was enormous, at least a good two feet taller and built like a tank. Adora had always been a beefy girl, but She-Ra took it to the next level, and apparently wasn’t afraid to show off. Catra supposed it was always guns-out weather when you glowed and put off heat like an engine.

Catra glanced down at the sword and noticed it hadn’t changed size. What had practically been a greatsword for Adora was a pretty basic longsword on She-Ra’s frame. Had it scaled _her_ up to make itself easier to wield?

A lesser woman would have drooled over the more or less literal Goddess in front of her, Catra took no small amount of pride in managing to close her mouth and only staring at her biceps again for a second before she was able to wrench her eyes back up to Adora’s face. She-Ra looked a strange mixture of concerned and indifferent, like she was worried about the general state of things but didn’t care too much about what was happening right now. She just stared back at Catra like she was a vaguely interesting bug.

Seeing that felt wrong on a face with Adora’s eyes and set a sinking feeling into Catra’s gut. Adora had never been that apathetic about anything in her life, even things she legitimately didn’t care about were usually worth more of a reaction than this.

“Uh, Adora, you in there?” She asked carefully, reaching out a hand towards her purely out of habit. She-Ra blinked and the pale glow coming off of her flickered a couple times before going out.

It was like a disguising layer had come off of her. Suddenly she was Adora again, if an eight foot tall Adora in a tiara and golden shoulderpads. She still had the slight offset to her nose from the time she broke it training when they were kids, and the scar on her forehead from when she had slipped cutting her bangs with a field knife. All kinds of little details and imperfections Catra had all but forgotten to see until they were gone jumped out at her all at once. She definitely liked this better.

“Catra?” Adora’s face shifted into outright worry and more than a little desperation. “Are you okay?” She almost met Catra’s outstretched hand but hesitated, like she was worried she might break something if she touched her. She always got like this after Catra got hurt. Usually it was annoying- she wasn’t made of glass, she didn’t need to be coddled- but right after the vacant stare of She-Ra it was almost as comforting as Adora probably thought it was.

“Yeah, you got her just in time.”

“Thank the First Ones.” Adora’s shoulders came down, tension leaving her for a second before it came back full force. “Oh, wow.”

“Yeah,” Catra grinned at Adora’s wince, now there was the goody-two-shoes she knew and loved.

“I just…” She pointed weakly towards the decimated crate.

“Yeah.”

“We should go. Like, right now.” Catra let herself laugh as she jumped back up onto the skiff, burying a nearly painful urge to go check on Shadow Weaver.

“I get to drive,” she said, grabbing the tiller.

“Please.” Adora said softly, climbing up on the other side and making it shift unsteadily. “I don’t feel so good.” She-Ra flickered again before vanishing entirely, leaving Adora staring off into space and looking much smaller in her wake. The fire of purpose that had always burned behind her eyes was gone and that made such a feeling of wrongness settle in Catra’s gut that she seriously considered calling off the entire escape. 

She felt her brow furrow and her ears droop but didn’t say anything; what could she say? She’d never really believed all the propaganda Shadow Weaver had fed them, she’d never needed a cause to rally behind the way Adora needed one. 

In the end she decided to let them sit in silence until the dark buildings of the Fright Zone were far behind them.

Adora was the one to break it, her voice dazed and terrified. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“That made my year,” Catra replied with more sincerity than she meant to show. It caused the part of her that had made her wince when Shadow Weaver hit the crate to roil unpleasantly.

“I punched Shadow Weaver…”

“Punched nothing!” Catra cackled, perhaps overcompensating a little for the moment of vulnerability. “You broke her in _half!_ ” Adora groaned and covered her face with her hands. “You put her through a wall!” Adora groaned louder. “The next time we see her she’s gonna be in a brace from the neck down.”

“Catra, this is serious!” Adora snapped after stifling a winded sort of giggle. “We just defected from the Horde, what was I thinking? Where are we supposed to go!?”

Catra reached back to grab Adora’s shoulder, she jumped slightly, shocked out of her spiral.

“You’ve got a plan, remember?” Catra said, keeping her eyes ahead. “With your Rebellion friends.”

“Yeah,” Adora said after a long moment, still sounding dazed.

“Then we’re good.” Catra took her hand back to steady the tiller. “What should I be looking for?” She needed to get Adora back on task or she’d work herself into a panic the whole way there.

“Tank tracks,” she responded, standing unsteadily to look out across the ground ahead. “It’s only been two days and it hasn’t rained, so they shouldn’t be faded yet. We need to follow those into the Whispering Woods, and from there to Thaymore.” Catra nodded, “and when we get to the town, or what’s left of it, watch for Bow, since I already told you what he looks like.”

“How could I forget the friend and boy?” Catra taunted, Adora chuckled at that. “Do you introduce all your friends like that? Was I ‘Companion and Cat?’”

“No, you were a Promise.” Adora said it like a joke, but Catra was suddenly very glad she was facing away from Adora so she couldn’t see her pupils flick wider. “...Hey Catra?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you came with me.” She said it in that weird, understated, Adora way she said everything that made Catra’s stomach do entirely too pleasant flips. Like she was just making an observation of something obvious, something so implicitly true that she usually wouldn’t say it but sometimes just had to. It’s what had made her calling Bow ‘the perfect boy’ hilarious but now made the niggling doubt that wanted Catra to turn this skiff around and go make sure Shadow Weaver was okay lose its grip on the back of her mind.

“Well,” she cleared her throat and kept her face forwards, “couldn’t let you have all the fun, could I?” Adora gave the quick, sarcastic laugh she did when she thought she’d seen through Catra’s front. She probably had in this case.

Neither of them entirely relaxed until they hit the Whispering Woods and could finally stop looking over their shoulders for someone following them.

They were out, they were free. Actually, really, never going back, free. Yet there was still a sinking feeling in Catra’s stomach that she was trying to ignore. They had a destination, they had a plan, but Catra still felt like she was running blind, like some guiding force had been pulled away from her and she was feeling around for a substitute. Or maybe Adora's mood was just rubbing off on her.

Then she remembered the device Shadow Weaver gave her, still sitting heavy in her pocket. She shook the thoughts from her head, her backup plan settling the lost feeling back down to a comfortable level.

The tank tracks weren’t hard to follow, but they weren’t easy, either. The ‘stable road’ through the Whispering Woods was still far from what Catra would have considered stable. It wound and doubled back on itself seemingly at random, there were strange patches where the road would seem to vanish but actually veered off into the undergrowth before reappearing a good deal further along. If they hadn’t had the treads to follow, Catra would probably have never been able to find their way through it.

“Slow down,” Adora called, ducking under a branch that Catra would have sworn hadn’t been there a second ago. “I’m starting to recognize things, we don’t want to come into town on a Horde vehicle.” Catra nodded and brought the skiff into a hover. “I never thought I’d say this, Catra, but it’s a good thing you don’t wear regulation gear.”

Catra looked over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised in question. Adora was closing up the front of her jacket and turning the buckle of her belt around.

“Wait, is that what you actually did? I thought you were just trying to cover for something.”

“No, Glimmer gave me her cape, she didn’t like the jacket.” Adora gestured to Catra’s belt, which also had the Horde symbol on it. “People don’t wear a lot of red around here, but the important part is not having any symbols showing.” Catra rolled her eyes but still turned her belt inside out.

“We stashing the skiff or just leaving it?”

“Let’s just leave it,” Adora looked over the side, “the woods will eat it or hide it for us.”

“Works for me,” Catra shrugged, trying not to think too hard about that, or about how Adora knew that. She lowered the skiff down to the ground and cut the engine before stepping off of it. Adora followed close behind.

“This way, it’s only around five minutes.” Adora took the lead and Catra followed.

Now that she wasn’t focussed on driving or following what was essentially a scar on the forest, she could kind of appreciate the place. The dim light filtering through the leaves and the reaching branches didn’t feel as threatening when she wasn’t speeding through them. Now they felt almost protective, like the forest itself was reaching out to help her hide from anyone who might try and follow them. The air was warm and alive in a way it never was in the Fright Zone, buzzing with insects and birdsong. She let her ears twitch and swivel to catch the sounds of small things scurrying through the undergrowth. Adora hadn’t been kidding, open air felt amazing.

Gradually she began to notice other sounds. Hushed voices, the clatter of tools and an odd snapping sound so soft it took her until she smelled strangely clean smoke for her to recognize it as fire. She’d only ever heard the roar of the fires in Horde forges, or the almost electric popping of the chemical accelerants they used in survival training, this was a new sort. It had never occurred to her that there were different kinds of fire by anything other than scale, but here was the proof.

She sniffed at the air and blinked, there was a swirl of pleasant scents under the smoke, sweet and savoury and things she had no names for but nonetheless made her mouth water.

“What are they burning?” Catra asked, her eyes flicking to Adora to find her already watching with a soft smile.

“They’re cooking, I think they’re about to have an evening meal.”

“That’s food?” Catra asked, glancing away and hoping Adora didn’t notice her flush.

“Yeah,” Adora’s voice came out almost giddy as she grabbed Catra’s hand and started pulling insistently. “I have got to show you biscuits, they’re the best thing that I’ve ever eaten.”

Catra let Adora pull her along, watching her intently. She didn’t think she’d seen Adora let herself get this excited about anything since they were kids. Then they broke the treeline and it came crashing in, her shoulders were squared again and her pace slowed to a stop.

Catra shook her head to bring herself back to the present and looked around. Thaymore was hardly standing, littered with the remains of buildings and the black smears of extinguished fires, what was still standing had boards and plaster thrown haphazardly over holes. 

People were moving all around. Gathering up debris and whatever could be salvaged from the destroyed buildings, climbing over the more intact ones to continue or refine repairs, or simply wandering around with clipboards or notebooks seemingly to take stock of what was left and what had been found.

Adora let out a mirthless chuckle, “no Horde banners. At least Scorpia kept her word about leaving everyone alone.” Catra grimaced, Adora’s eyes were dull and lost again. Catra decided to take the lead, pulling Adora along with her.

“Come on, we’ve got somebody to find. Where’s Bow gonna be hanging out?”

“In this?” Adora said, her voice tight with a mixture of anger and sadness. “Probably wherever they’re making food. That sounds right for him.”

“You didn’t mention he thought with his stomach.” Catra tried to tease but Adora just shook her head.

“No, he’ll be the one making it.” Catra had to hold in a sigh at how small her voice sounded, but she soldiered onward to where she thought the center of the town would be. 

They were getting a few stares, but no one stopped them. The one time she heard someone whispering something about Adora, Catra threw them a quick glare and they shut their mouth fast enough Catra would have sworn she heard their teeth click.

A slapdash sort of stand stood in the blast-cratered center of town, white smoke gently flowing out of the top of it and a line of people standing in front of it. The sweet-savoury-new smell Catra had noticed was strongest there.

Catra considered shoving her way through the line to check if Bow was actually there, but she was pretty sure Adora would have dug in her heels if she tried that. Luckily they didn’t have to wait long to be noticed.

“Adora!” A voice cracked as someone leaned out of the stand. Even from this distance, Adora had described Bow well enough that Catra recognized him on sight. Then he overbalanced and nearly came tumbling out of the stand onto his face. Catra huffed out a quick laugh.

“The perfect boy, huh?” She elbowed Adora who rolled her eyes.

“Shut up, he’s excited.” Her heart wasn’t quite in it, but it was better than she’d sounded a second ago as she waved back to him.

Bow turned to say something to someone else inside the stand before rushing towards them. She almost jumped when he didn’t slow down, running full tilt into Adora and wrapping her up in an entirely too enthusiastic hug.

“You made it!” He laughed, squeezing her as Adora blinked wide-eyed at Catra before giving Bow a hesitant hug back. “Right on time, too,” Bow added as he pulled away, looking like he was about to start bouncing on his heels. Catra crossed her arms and had to stifle a laugh as she looked him over and realized that he really was wearing the weird crop-top chestplate Adora had described.

He turned to Catra and beamed like she was the best thing he’d seen today. Oh no, he really was just that friendly. “You must be the friend Adora needed to go back for.” He offered his hand.

“Catra,” she shook his hand firmly, “you must be Bow.” She grinned at him, all teeth, and added, “gotta say, you’re pretty much exactly as advertised.” Adora gave Catra a glare that was best translated as ‘do not.’ “Do your boots really have hearts on the bottoms?” He blinked at her but his giddy smile didn’t falter.

“Yeah,” he pulled up one of his legs a little awkwardly so Catra could look, “I made them myself.” The temptation to trip him was nearly overwhelming, but she was able to endure until he had both feet on the ground again. “Sounds like Adora told you a lot about me.” Catra could feel her grin stretching wider but Adora jumped in before she could say anything compromising.

“Where’s Glimmer?” She asked and Bow’s smile finally slipped a little.

“Well, she wasn’t _technically_ supposed to be out here when everything happened.” He said, his hands going to fiddle with the strap across his chest. “She was grounded, her mom was really mad. So now she’s double grounded.” He gestured back to the food stand, “I’m here with Netossa. I managed to sell this as a humanitarian effort, which it is, and Thaymore is technically under Bright Moon’s jurisdiction, so the Queen couldn’t really say no.” Catra gave him an approving nod, he was evidently smarter than he looked. He frowned slightly, “she’s been pretty reluctant to do anything else.”

“Have either of you told her about me yet?” Adora asked, shifting uncomfortably. Bow shook his head.

“No, it’s kind of… awkward to explain without you there. With the whole,” he glanced around like he was checking if anyone was paying attention to them, “Horde thing, you know?” Adora’s expression tightened, like she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that.

“Smart,” Catra drawled, her temper flaring, “drop the defecting soldiers in front of the Queen with no warning. She’s gonna love that.”

“Catra,” Adora sighed.

“What?” Catra snapped, “the last thing we need is to end up on the run from both sides.”

“That won’t happen,” Bow said, his voice entirely too soft for Catra’s liking. They weren’t friends yet, he’d do well to treat her with a bit of caution.

“Says who? You? Doesn’t sound like you’re in charge.” She bared her teeth and he took a step back.

“Adora has She-Ra and you defected, right? We can’t exactly call ourselves the good guys if we’re not willing to at least give the two of you a chance.” Bow said it like it was perfectly reasonable and she narrowed her eyes. Great, they really were a bunch of self-righteous weirdos like Adora, no wonder she fit right in.

Catra felt her tail lash at the ground behind her and turned to look at Adora, only to find she’d wandered off to stare at one of the collapsed buildings. Catra felt the growl come up her throat before she could stop it.

“Now look what you did.”

“Me?” Bow sounded more hurt than incredulous and Catra blinked. He was just so genuine it made Catra feel like pulling out her hair and his both.

“No. Shut up.” She took a breath to reel herself in. “We got stopped by Shadow Weaver on our way out. She had to fight past her. She’s kind of torn up about it.” She shot Bow a sidelong glare to watch his expression, but he wasn’t looking at her anymore, watching Adora with unconcealed concern. It was weird to meet someone other than Adora who was so unguarded, but there was something about it that made her feel like she could trust him with at least that much.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it so she put it out of her mind, letting her eyes drift back to Adora, who had crouched down with a hand on the sword slung over her shoulder.

“Another friend?” He asked after a long moment, Catra allowed herself a bitter chuckle.

“No, try commanding officer.” He made a noise of comprehension that drew Catra’s eyes back to him.

“So the person who told her all that stuff about the Horde.” Catra blinked, but nodded. “She said the people sent here were for her, not the town. Shadow Weaver’s the one who sent them?” Catra cocked her head at him.

“Yeah.”

“Then she’s probably…” Bow trailed off and glanced over to Catra, his dark eyes suddenly piercing. It was unnerving, but Catra didn’t let herself show it. He looked away after a moment longer.

“Do you have settings other than way too happy and worried?” Catra snipped once she was sure he wouldn’t see her shift a little away from him. “Can I see some of those?”

“Not that I’ve been told about, no,” he replied. So he could do sarcastic too, good to know. “Is there anything we can say to her?” Catra shrugged and crossed her arms.

“If you can think of something, go ahead, I’ve been trying all night.” She felt a hand settle on her upper arm and nearly flinched as she turned to look at him.

“Are you okay?” He asked her, all sincerity and wide-eyed optimism.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” She snapped, he just tilted his head towards Adora. “Fine, I’m worried about her, but I’m allowed to be. She’s my best friend.” That was only half of the troubled cocktail that had been sitting in her gut since they’d escaped but it was all he was going to get. He blinked at her.

“Why wouldn’t you be allowed to be?” His eyes were searching again, but this time she couldn’t keep her surprise from showing for a second. What kind of question was that?

“Mind your own business,” was all she muttered after a moment longer, crossing her arms and turning away. “We’re heading for Bright Moon?” He nodded and she sighed, “when?”

“As soon as Adora’s ready. Netossa can handle this.” He gave a weak chuckle, “and if she can’t, Spinnerella can be here quick.”

“I’ll see if I can get her.” Catra nodded to him, moving to stand next to where Adora was still crouched.

Adora looked lost in thought, her fingers tapping at the pommel of the sword she still hadn’t taken off her back while her eyes shifted keen but distant across the different breaks in the building in front of her.

“Um, excuse me,” a small voice said from Adora’s other side. Catra crooked an eyebrow and looked around her. A small satyr child stood there, clutching at her dress and staring at Adora with wide, curious eyes. Catra almost shooed her off as Adora turned to look, but Adora spoke first.

“Yes?” Her voice was a little too even, still lost in her head a bit.

“I’m Annabelle, what’s your name?” Catra’s lip tugged as she tried not to snarl at the kid, they had places to be.

“Adora,” Adora blinked and her voice started to wake up.

“My Poppa says you saved the town.” Annabelle lunged forwards to glom onto Adora’s side with the sort of sudden energy only children could really muster. “Thank you.” Before Adora or Catra could really react she pulled away and shot off back towards a grey, vaguely tired looking satyr with the air of someone who’d just gotten her favourite Force Captain’s autograph.

“Huh,” Adora murmured, her voice tinged with curiosity.

“I forgot to mention,” Bow said, almost seeming to appear next to Catra, “you’ve become kind of a celebrity around here. People don’t normally just turn back Horde advances, but you did.” He chuckled, “there were even a few people talking about a rescue mission for you.”

Adora stared after the two satyrs for a moment longer before nodding. Her shoulders relaxed a little, still basically straight, but no longer squared up around her ears. When she turned back around Catra felt something in her own chest uncoil. The fire was back, Adora’s focus clear as ever. She’d found her new cause.

“Let’s go meet up with Glimmer.”

“I’ll go get the horses,” Bow clapped his hands, his mood immediately lifting with Adora’s. Adora’s jaw dropped.

“We get to ride _Horses!?_ ” Adora shouted, grabbing Catra with both hands and shoving her along, “come on, I can’t believe I already get to show you horses!”

It only took Catra twenty minutes to decide horses were officially the worst part about life outside the Fright Zone. They were huge, smelly, kind of creepy looking, and hurt to sit on but refused to let her hang onto them any other way.

“Why couldn’t we have taken the skiff?” She groaned, glaring at the back of Adora’s insufferably chipper head.

“Can’t show up in Horde tech, remember?” Adora called back, too ecstatic about just being around the horses to care that Catra was suffering.

“Would that have really been so bad?”

“Considering there’s a good three miles between Thaymore and Bright Moon,” Bow chimed in from the front, “somebody would probably have seen us and raised the alarm.” Catra groaned wordlessly, she hated it when other people were right. Why did she always have to get stuck with the annoyingly reasonable ones?

“I’m never getting on another horse after this,” she grumbled to herself before raising her voice. “If it’s only three miles couldn’t we have just walked?”

“The first time Adora saw a horse was a spiritual moment for her,” Bow said, sounding entirely too proud of his contribution to Catra’s discomfort. “It only seemed right to let her ride one for her triumphant return!” Now he was just being theatrical.

“Thank you, Bow,” Adora called, drowning out a rather impressive string of curses as Catra’s horse decided it didn’t like her claws again and bucked underneath her.

This was undignified.

“I’m going to change every crop top you own into regular shirt!” Catra yelled when she was done scrambling to keep her grip. She thought she saw Bow physically flinch at that, but it might have just been the cursed animal he was riding deciding it wanted to jostle him. She chose to believe it was a flinch for the sake of her sanity.

Bright Moon castle was gorgeous once it came into view, but it was more what it represented that had Catra looking around in wonder. At last, she would be free of this awful beast. The swooping staircase leading up to the front entrance was the herald of sweet earth beneath her feet again.

Catra wasted no time in getting off the horse the second the stairs were close enough for her to jump onto. The horse just stood there looking stupid and vaguely indignant as she stretched her legs and glared at it. “I hate you, just so we’re perfectly clear.” The horse huffed back and Catra narrowed her eyes at it.

“You guys wait here,” Bow chuckled as he passed the stairs, reaching out to take the reigns of Catra’s horse in his hand. “I’ll go get Glimmer, then we can take you to meet the Queen.” Adora looked more than a little reluctant to get off of her horse- Because she’s a freak like that, Catra seethed to herself- but came to stand next to Catra, giving the horse a gentle pat on the snout as it moved to follow the other two and Bow.

“Everything else has been pretty close to what you said,” Catra crossed her arms and glared after the horses. “But those are a you thing, and it’s a sickness.” Adora chuckled and mirrored Catra’s stance.

“You’re just no good with animals.”

“If they’re all like that, I think I’m okay with that.” Catra stretched again and winced as her legs twinged unpleasantly. Adora’s eyes drifted up to the castle.

“What do you think the Queen will be like?” Adora’s expression was nervous, last minute jitters setting in. “What if she doesn’t believe us?” Catra rolled her eyes.

“She let Glimmer escape whatever being ‘grounded’ means and she hangs around Bow. She’s a softie at best.”

“And at worst?” Adora’s gaze landed back on Catra.

“An idiot,” Catra reached out to sling an arm around Adora’s shoulders, “neither of which we have to worry about.”

“Yeah,” Adora chuckled, hesitating for a moment before she grabbed Catra back. Something warm blossomed in Catra’s chest but she didn’t let herself dwell on it.

She looked up to the sky, now a riot of red, yellow and pink with impending night.

“I know it was probably just an excuse, but you were right about being under the sky.” Catra murmured to Adora, “it’s…” she spent a moment looking for a word that wasn’t outright corny, “nice.”

“That’s why it made a good one,” Adora said, looking up with her. Catra released Adora’s shoulder and moved to lean against the side of the staircase, Adora mirrored the stance on the other side, the two of them watching the moons drift across the sky.

They didn’t have to wait too much longer for someone to come get them. A strange, metallic sort of noise split the air and Catra jumped as someone who had to be Glimmer just appeared out of thin air.

“Adora!” The shortstack threw herself at Adora the same way Bow had, nearly knocking Adora off balance this time. “I knew you could do it!” She released Adora and stood up straight as a board, evidently attempting to look regal as she turned to Catra. “And you must be Catra, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She bowed and Catra couldn’t help smirking a little.

“Cool it, Princess,” she teased, “I’m not that big a deal.” Catra scanned over Glimmer, noting an anxious sort of energy in the way she moved as she let herself relax. It seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Okay, so there’s good news and bad news.” Glimmer said, holding out a hand towards each of them with an edge of irritation in her voice, “the good news is my mom knows you’re coming so we won’t surprise her. She’s been checking on me about every hour on the hour for the last two days so she caught Bow coming to tell me you were here.” Glimmer’s face twisted and her hands clenched in a way that said she had thoughts about that but didn’t have time to get into it. “The bad news is that means we don’t have much time to prepare. Adora, do you know what you’re going to say? We’ve got to really sell this.”

“Uh, maybe?” Adora stammered, “I mean, I’ve got a pretty good idea.” Glimmer made a frustrated sort of noise before letting out a breath.

“Good enough. Catra, how about you?”

“Adora and I had just graduated from being trained to lead and plan operations in the Horde,” Catra forced her voice casual, “we can tell you the what, when, how, and why of any move the Horde makes well enough that you might as well have a seat at mission control.” Glimmer blinked at her, her brow furrowing as she glanced down. Catra chuckled, that had gotten the wheels turning.

“That’s actually really good, remember that.”

“I was good on the ground,” Adora added, beaming at Catra, “but Catra was the best strategist in our squad.”

“So she  _ is _ that big of a deal,” Glimmer shot Catra a mischievous grin. Catra turned to look up the steps so she wouldn’t be taking the both of them smiling at her head on. “Okay,” Glimmer took a deep breath and took on that rigid posture again, “showtime. Come on.” She started up the stairs, Catra and Adora falling into step behind her.

About halfway there, Adora nodded to herself and pulled the sword off her back, tossing her jacket aside before becoming She-Ra. Catra felt a tingle of apprehension go up her spine, but this time the glow faded as soon as the transformation was complete. Adora had control, and Catra let herself relax.

“Figured out what you’re going to say?” She asked, Adora nodded but didn’t say anything, her eyes straight ahead. Catra rolled her shoulders to keep loose and stood a little straighter, she didn’t want the Queen’s first impression of her to be ‘that weirdo slouching next to She-Ra.’

Glimmer pushed the doors to the throne room open, revealing a chamber that lead up to the throne and an open back wall, letting the light of the rising nighttime moons spill into the room and across the wings of the Queen standing next to Bow before the throne.

Angella stood like a bright mirror to Shadow Weaver’s darkness. The Queen had pastel, iridescent purples, blues and light where the Sorceress had shadows, saturated, flat reds and blacks. Yet there was something in the set of the Queen’s shoulders, in the way she held her hands, that set Catra on edge and made her claws extend. It faded the second the Queen’s eyes fell on first her, then Adora.

“It can’t be,” she breathed, taking a step forward.

“Queen Angella,” Glimmer started, “these are Catra and-”

“She-Ra,” Angella looked shaken, her wings flaring like she could hardly trust her feet to keep her standing.

“Your Majesty,” Adora said, not bowing but Catra noticed the way her head tilted for a moment like she wanted to. “We’ve come to pledge ourselves to the rebellion. But there’s something you should know.” Catra felt a jolt of terror up her spine as light flashed again and revealed Adora, the Horde insignia on her undershirt clear for anyone to see. She glanced to Angella and found her staring open-mouthed at Adora but not actively hostile just yet.

Catra sighed to herself and turned her belt back around, revealing the insignia on that as well.

“Mom,” Glimmer stepped forward and placed a hand on Adora’s arm, though whether she was offering a steadying point to Adora or the Queen Catra couldn’t be sure. “This is Adora.” Adora’s expression softened, a little frightened but mostly determined as she stepped forward and kneeled down, presenting the sword to Angella.

“I know you have no reason to trust us, your Majesty,” Adora started again and Catra had to fight to keep her eyes from rolling through Adora's speech. Always the kiss up.  Catra glanced up to the Queen, she looked properly dazzled. There always was something to Adora’s dramatics at times like these, Catra just focused on keeping her back straight, she’d have her turn in a moment. Once Adora was done speaking Angella looked to Glimmer, and Glimmer nodded back before the Queen began to address Adora, taking the sword from her hands.

“I know the legends of the warrior the First Ones called She-Ra,” she began, her voice tired and heavy as her wings drooped almost imperceptibly and she gazed into the gem set in the sword’s pommel. “They said she would return to us in the hour of our greatest need to bring balance to Etheria. I never thought she was anything more than a myth.”

She looked back to Adora, “and yet you’re here now. And in the uniform of a Horde soldier no less.” The weight in her voice settled across her brow and for a moment Angella looked like she would give anything in the world to sit down somewhere. Catra had to stifle a chuckle. “You would pledge to stand with us against those you once served?” Adora took a deep breath and glanced back at Catra, a last moment of fear taking her. Catra nodded slowly and Adora’s gaze was steel again.

“Yes.” She said, her eyes still averted from the Queen. Angella looked to Catra now.

“And what of you? What brings you before the Rebellion?”

“She just gave you a speech,” Catra said truthfully, gesturing to Adora. “And I’m not the type to give them. If you’re asking what I can offer, I know how the Horde thinks. Adora can give you a weapon, I can show you where to use her.” Angella gave her a look Catra didn’t know how to decode, but Catra still met her gaze.

“There was no illusion about their intent for you?” She asked and Catra felt her eyes narrow before she could stop them. The Queen was probing, Adora was an open book, but Catra knew how to present a wall and the Queen knew that.

“I understood what they were, but Adora didn’t, I couldn’t leave her there alone.” Catra replied, technically true, but not the whole matter. “It would have eaten her alive, someone had to look out for her.” A hint of a smile tugged at Angella’s face for a moment.

“I appreciate your frankness, Catra.” Angella nodded to her, “and I understand she’s found a way to repay the favour.” Catra blinked. Angella looked to Glimmer again. “Glimmer, you would vouch for these two, and take responsibility for them?” Catra had to stop herself from groaning, it was smart to have someone keeping an eye on them, but it was going to be annoying if Glimmer and Angella had any kind of sense about them.

“Yes,” Glimmer said, all conviction. Angella turned back to Adora, still kneeling before her.

“Then rise,” she proclaimed, offering the sword back to Adora. “The Rebellion accepts your allegiance, Catra, and She-Ra, Princess of Power.”

Adora took back the sword and stood, looking dazed and a little giddy, Catra felt a warm glow of pride starting in her chest. Glimmer let out an excited noise and threw an arm around Catra and Adora both, pulling them in before Catra could say anything.

“Welcome to Bright Moon!” Glimmer shouted and Catra couldn’t stop herself from glancing over at Angella. She looked amused, but she didn’t say anything or move to break them up so Catra let herself relax a little as Bow piled onto what was quickly becoming too much group hug for Catra to handle.

“Glimmer, show them to their rooms.” Angella to the rescue, Catra let out a discreet sigh of relief as Glimmer released her and turned to guide them out.

Catra’s mind began working harder once they were out in the halls again. If she was going to help the Rebellion mobilize, she’d need to know everything she could.

“Hey Sparkles,” she said, drawing Glimmer’s attention with a raised eyebrow. “How big is the Rebellion’s army?” Glimmer made a face and turned to keep walking.

“We have three Princesses, mom, Bow, and you two now.” She said stiffly and a sinking feeling gathered in Catra’s gut. “As for troops, we have the Brightmoon royal guard, around a hundred strong, and some volunteer soldiers, around five hundred.”

"What about the Princess Alliance?" Catra had to stop herself from sputtering, ice jabbing down into her bones. Glimmer looked away and Shadow Weaver's device was suddenly light instead of heavy in her pocket. It hadn't been a trap but it may as well have been.

"It's broken right now, but I'm going to fix it."

Glimmer's expression was confident and determined as she kept talking but Catra wasn’t listening anymore. They had less than a thousand people at their command, and no backup from other nations. The Horde could throw numbers like that around before breakfast.

The Rebellion was doomed, and Catra knew there was no way she would be able to make Adora run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said before, now that I've got the setup chapters out of the way I intend to update monthly. However, my dog is dying and life happens, so it might end up even slower than that. I apologize if this is the case.


	4. Intermission 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW: Heavy dissociation, earning that Graphic Depictions of Violence tag, Self-Mutilation, and mild gore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the way I've formatted this fic- exclusively switching between Adora and Catra's POVs and every POV shift happening sequentially with either no or very little time overlap- there were and will likely continue to be scenes that I want to write that don't really have any place in the primary chapters. These scenes are canon, but they don't fit with the regular formatting and tend to be pretty short.  
> My solution? Intermission chapters. By writing out these scenes and posting them in batches at the midpoint between when I'd post proper chapters this lets me both post bi-weekly like I'd originally wanted to and explore the scenes happening around Adora and Catra's drama to provide more context and allow both myself and the audience to more thoroughly understand other characters.  
> Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing. ^_^

Nestled behind the vent covering just inside the camera blind spot, Catra could practically taste her anticipation. Just a few more minutes and they’d be on their way out of here with no one the wiser. It was cliche, but she loved it when a plan came together. Her ears twitched as she waited, an old habit that came out when she was listening carefully that she’d been trying to suppress for years. She had it down around Shadow Weaver, but it was hard to completely master it without the creeping fear of her superior officer breathing down her neck.

Not that she needed to right now, she caught the sound of the guard’s boots and let a savage grin slide across her face, starting the timer on her watch. Her claws extended and she gathered herself for the pounce.

Three, two, and attack! She dropped down on the guard’s shoulders hard, and that’s where they made their first two mistakes. The first was that they didn’t shout for help, they just grunted in surprise at the sudden extra weight. The second was that they stumbled but didn’t fall, their arms going out to stabilize instead of grabbing at Catra.

Everyone on her squad could tell you, if Catra got on top of you, it was better to hit the ground than try to stay standing.

“Hi,” she said breezily, yanking off the guard’s helmet with one hand and driving a fist into their exposed throat as they looked up to try and figure out who had a grip on them.

They sputtered, one hand going for their stun baton while the other reached up to make their first correct action of the night by trying to swat Catra away. Catra obliged them, shoving off of their shoulders to land on her feet while they ended up knocked against the wall by the shift in weight.

Still coughing, they brought the business end of the baton up to take aim. Catra made a quick movement to the right to throw off their aim then whipped around left, throwing the helmet at their face. Their third mistake of the night came when they caught it, distracted enough by the projectile for Catra to shoot forwards. They flinched and Catra managed to get her hand into the padded inside of the helmet before it made contact with the side of their face.

The outside of the helmet was solid metal and made an even more solid sound as the blow left a split in their brow, but they took it like a champ, Catra could give them that much. Their grip on their helmet and baton loosened, but as they shook her away Catra only managed to get the helmet away.

Catra kept her hand inside the helmet, her claws wouldn’t be too much use here, she needed the armour clean. The guard and she circled for a moment, studying each other, them with their baton poised to strike, and Catra with her improvised glove.

Catra’s opening came when a drop of blood from their split eyebrow flowed down into their eye and they winced, trying to blink it away without taking their eyes off of Catra. Catra surged forwards again, this time swinging for an uppercut at the guard’s jaw. It met squarely with an unpleasant crunching sound and she got the distinct impression she’d just knocked a few of their teeth loose. The guard lurched and this time when Catra grabbed for the baton it slipped from their fingers as they reached up to clutch at their jaw.

Catra turned the baton around and jammed it down the neck of their armour, hitting the trigger. There was a faint electrical zap and they seized up, a pained wheeze coming from them before they crumpled to the ground.

Catra nodded to herself and checked the watch, it hadn’t taken her longer than thirty seconds to take down the guard, but it was hardly her best time for a one on one brawl, much less one where she had the element of surprise. She clicked her tongue in annoyance and pushed down a hot wave of embarrassment as she wiped the helmet on her sleeve before shoving it over her head. There would be more chances for her to improve that with the Rebellion.

She made short work of stripping the armour off the guard and shoving them into the vent. They were a bit burlier than Catra so the armour hung a little loose around her shoulders and she had to pull the belt tight, but she didn’t look like too much of a slob. Just a little careless. She could work with that.

She checked the watch again, 18:00, time to check if Adora was ready for her. She glanced around the corner, keeping herself close to the wall to avoid drawing attention, but she didn’t see Adora on the far end of the hall. She dipped back into cover before either of the guards at the door could notice her. She’d just have to wait for the timer to run out, if Adora was going to be ready, she’d be ready then.

Shadow Weaver’s device sat heavy in her pocket as she waited. It wasn’t too late to back out yet, was it? If just telling her what Adora had been doing out in Thaymore would have gotten Catra on Shadow Weaver’s good side, reporting an escape attempt would be even better. Wouldn’t it? Not to mention, it would probably spare them both a more severe punishment if Adora got her butt handed to her by the guard she was supposed to be taking out and ended up in Shadow Weaver’s clutches that way.

Catra shook her head, this was Adora, she was probably just agonizing over the ethics of the situation or something. Worrying about Kyle or somebody else stupid. Shadow Weaver was the emergency option, she wasn’t that desperate yet.

The watch beeped and Catra sighed, now or never.

She turned the corner, slinging the stun baton over her shoulder carelessly. As soon as she spotted the person coming up the other end of the hall she relaxed. Only Adora could walk that stiffly and still make it look army proper. Catra let herself smile behind her mask, she looked like a complete nerd.

The guards at the door perked up a little when they saw Catra, but Adora was met with a deflated sort of acceptance. Seemed they agreed that Adora was giving off bootlicker vibes hard enough to be felt at fifty paces. 

One of them nodded to Catra and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“Sorry you’ve got a shift with this narc,” they said, a smile in their voice. Catra had to bite back a laugh as she replied.

“I’m used to it,” she glanced at Adora out of the corner of her eye, but with the helmet on it was harder to tell if she was frozen with surprise or just maintaining the parade rest. “Give it an hour and she’ll be asking me to look the other way so she can pull out the crossword.” Adora’s head shifted side to side like she wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at before she spoke.

“Don’t you two have somewhere to be?” She snapped, tense as anything. Catra rolled her eyes, they were already in the clear, she could relax. The two guards laughed and Catra felt a momentary wave of irritation at them, but she kept herself in check until they were around the corner.

Adora turned to her and even with the mask on Catra could tell she was thoroughly confused. “What was that?” Catra didn’t especially want to admit that her idea had been born of ill-fitting armour, so instead she went with what their reaction to it had basically spelled out for her.

“They’ve been standing here for six hours,” she shrugged. “You either need to have your spine sanded to regulation length or be on a punishment detail to do that without at least stretching at some point. I bet punishment detail.” She chuckled to herself, “looks like I was right.”

“Well, good work,” Adora nodded, turning to open the door into the hangar while Catra tried not to let herself glow at the praise. “Now we get to do the hard part.”

* * *

Shadow Weaver’s entire head was ringing. There was something piercing her vessel’s chest, but that would have been inconsequential on any other day. She would recover, she just needed time. Consciousness faded in and out at its leisure, never long enough for her to think of more than her body’s state of disrepair before she sunk under again.

Noise jolted her from her stupor, someone was yelling. Something asinine about medical attention. She didn’t need medical attention. She needed magic, she needed the Black Garnet. She felt her vessel try to sneer as she remembered how unpleasantly barren of magic the Fright Zone was besides the Garnet. She wouldn’t recover just sitting here, she needed to get to it.

The eyes refused to open for a few moments. She was in worse condition than she’d thought. She expended some of the precious little power she had left to reinvigorate the oxygen-starved muscles. The heart had stopped at some point, she would need to- a stab of pain shot through her chest, centered on the object pushing through it.

It had gone through the heart, that was unfortunate. It would take multiple sessions to restore herself if the heart needed to be reconstructed. She needed to take stock of what needed rebuilding and what could be forced to move through magic.

Most of the chest cavity and much of the spine would need complete regeneration. The limbs would obey, however. She could work with that.

Through her magic, she bade the eyes to open and they did. They refused to properly focus, but it was enough for her to see someone jump away from her. She could navigate like this, barely, but she could.

She pushed more magic through the body, wrapping it around the head and arms. She lifted herself from her place slowly, carefully to prevent the body from spilling anything vital onto the ground. The piece of metal didn’t appear to have been attached to her resting place, instead rising with her. The face twitched in irritation beneath her mask. Thank the Dark Ones the mask had not fallen from her when she had been crippled, there would have been no salvaging this disgusting flesh without its lingering stores of magic.

She twisted her magic coiled around the arms to bring them up to the chest. Puppeting a half-dead body was frustrating, but she forced the fingers to wrap around the protruding shard of metal with little issue. She felt the flesh’s desire to scream as she tore the shard from it in a lumpy spray of red and grey but the lungs had collapsed, there was no air to force out. She was fairly certain she had just pulled much of one of them from the chest along with the shard besides. She heard several voices shout and swear around her and turned her attention back to her surroundings.

There were several blurry figures surrounding her, each stepping back as she turned the head to look at them in turn. She could not speak without the lungs, and she had no time for these fools. She dismissed them with a wave of the hand, though she heard one of them retch heavily. Damned fleshlings.

Her progress through the halls was slow, but not intolerably so. She needed to prevent any more of the body’s structures falling out of it like the lung, if she had to move at a snail’s pace to accomplish that, so be it. 

She heard more gasps and retching from the inconsequential underlings she passed. One of them even vomited when they laid eyes on her. She ignored them, the siren’s scream of the Black Garnet the only beacon her mind focussed on.

The door was unnecessarily difficult to deal with, her vision blurred and control over the limbs fading as they were. After what felt like a thousand failed attempts to press the hand to the panel she finally managed it. Her magic swaddling the head flickered out for a moment and it lolled down onto what was left of the chest. She was running out of time, but somehow she could not muster the energy to feel panic as she would have expected.

Her magic still had its grip on the arms, so she hoisted the body by its shoulders and forced it forwards through the air until she was close enough that the Garnet’s scream had turned to a piercing shriek, then forced the hands up to splay across its conquered facets.

The influx of magic forced her back into her body and she gasped as the hole in her chest closed over. It would be patchwork for a time, more shadow than flesh, but her heart and lungs were restored enough for her to gasp and howl at the onslaught of pain that accompanied her return to proper physicality.

Her body had died, through the grace of those beings from beyond the void she had survived its untimely shutdown, but her form had still experienced death and protested mightily at being dragged back from it. It was several full minutes before she was able to numb the pain enough to stop screaming, and she was left panting and sweating by the end of it.

She pulled away from the Black Garnet, her spine was still shattered, unfit to hold her weight, but her magic’s grip on her upper body was stronger now, sure enough that she could afford to be seen again.

She growled as she cursed herself for her carelessness. To show such weakness in front of the entire Fright Zone. She would need to tighten her grip on them to compensate.

More important than that, however, was what had placed her in this position in the first place.

Her Adora. The golden Goddess she had become. The power that radiated off of her, warm and sweet and Shadow Weaver’s by right. She felt a thrill of rage and pride as she thought of it. There would be punishment for this, but once she was cooperative again there would be rewards, too. She would be Shadow Weaver’s greatest weapon, something that could gather the other Runestones for her, drive her power to unimagined heights, perhaps even give her the strength to depose Hordak and finally take every last piece of the Horde for herself.

She would retrieve Adora, and it would be glorious.

Her mood soured again as her mind turned to the only obstacle in her way. That arrogant rat would never let her have Adora back if he knew the truth. Luckily, there was someone perfect to take the blame for this.

Catra, always Catra. No matter how Shadow Weaver pushed her, no matter how clearly she demonstrated her authority, Catra had always proved herself worthless in one manner or another. She was perfect, and if Hordak ordered her dead how terribly Adora’s rage would shine. Adora’s fatal flaw had always been that foolish attachment to Catra, how fitting that beast would provide her only service of true worth in death.

She had meant it when she told Catra her last order had been the only chance she would ever give. Whether she realized it or not, Catra had signed her own death warrant the moment she decided to betray her.

And Shadow Weaver couldn’t wait to follow through.


	5. Rise, Spymaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra does what she has to do. Right?  
> Adora learns something important about the Queen.  
> There's a hole in the center of Bright Moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can y'all tell I really like writing planning scenes?

For the first time in their lives, Catra and Adora had separate rooms. And not for the first time in her life, Catra was glad to be away from her.

Sitting on the edge of her new bed, she turned over the thing Shadow Weaver had given her in her hand. It was small, hardly bigger than the pad of her thumb. It was translucent, jagged and red, like she’d broken off a shard of the Black Garnet to make it. There was only a single button on it, and that was less a button than it was a spot where there appeared to be a circle cut into the gem.

Something in the back of Catra’s head whispered for her to stop, Adora had trusted her, had cared enough about her to come back when she had a ticket out. She hadn’t needed to come back, with She-Ra at her disposal no one could have forced her to. She came back for their promise, for her. And she would never forgive what Catra was about to do.

She shook her head, that was exactly why she would have to understand. They looked out for each other. Adora had gotten them into a mess she couldn’t- wouldn’t, would never- even see, but Catra would get them out. Adora would just have to suck it up once she saw Catra was right, but she couldn’t tell her now. She glanced out the window and listened, absolute silence, the nighttime moons more than halfway through their trip across the sky. The dead of night. Now would be the best time.

She imagined Adora would be having trouble sleeping alone, so she might come looking, but no one else would. Even still, she couldn’t have Adora stumbling across this.

There was something in her that ached at that, that wanted to slip into Adora’s room and curl up at the foot of her bed. Pretend they were back in the Fright Zone and not waiting for the axe to come down on both of their necks. That part still wanted to go and plead for Adora to just run with her, to go find somewhere it could just be the two of them. No Horde, no Rebellion, just them free under the sky. She’d even be willing to take horses to do it, she’d be willing to start a whole horse ranch for it.

Catra shook that part of herself off with a flash of anger. Given the choice, Adora- self-righteous moron that she was- would rather die for whatever cause struck her fancy than live for nothing. For her. 

Catra would just have to be the one who knew better, like she apparently always had been.

She stuffed the gem back into her pocket and hopped off the incredibly plush bed. She opened the door silently, glancing to each side of the hall. No guards, not a trace of anyone.

The Fright Zone had been easy to sneak around in because of how cluttered it was. There was always something to hide behind, a branch of piping from one end to the other in every room. Bright Moon was easy to sneak around for the exact opposite reason. The emptiness meant there were long shadows to duck between, how high the ceilings were let her climb between arching supports completely out of sight of anyone on the ground. 

She would need somewhere high up for this, somewhere isolated. She was tempted to use the roof, but that was too exposed, open air on all sides would let sound carry. She needed somewhere enclosed, an attic or unused office would work best.

On one of the higher levels she found the perfect spot. There had been no one guarding the door, and from the look of the inside- the desk and bookshelves inside caked with dust but no cobwebs- it didn’t seem like it had been used for ages except to clear out insects. Someone was preserving this room, but wasn’t using it. Catra would be willing to bet they didn’t even visit it often.

Allowing her curiosity to get the better of her, she pulled open a drawer to check inside. There was a rubber stamp, probably for wax seals, emblazoned with the letter M.

M, Bright Moon- something tugged painfully in the back of her head and she closed the drawer before she could think too much more about it. She’d look through the rest of it some other time, for now she had a call to make.

She stood in the center of the room and pressed the circle. The gem flared with red and black before shooting out of her hand, landing on the floor at her feet. It shattered into dozens of shards that drew up through the air into a circle that surrounded her. Catra felt fear grip at her as the space between the shards began to go black, encircling her in shadow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she could still move, this wasn’t a trick just yet.

When she opened them she found herself in a room she’d never been in but was still very familiar to her, walled off from it by the spinning shards. Hordak’s chamber, and standing in front of her was Hordak himself, his brow quirked in irritation. Her eyes flicked to the floor, still the pearly white of Bright Moon around her feet. She wasn’t really there, it was just a projection.

“Catra,” Shadow Weaver’s voice sneered from behind her and she spun around to face the Sorceress. “Come to gloat?”

She’d definitely seen better days. She was presenting a facade of stability, her masked face forwards, head high, her eyes narrowed with contempt and her hair and robes billowing around her the same as ever, but Catra could see the way her body hung limp underneath it from the neck down. It was like something was puppeting her with her head as its only anchor point. Catra almost took a step back. She’d been joking about how badly Shadow Weaver had been hurt, but to see she’d been right set something in her chest clenching.

Catra shook her head, stood up straight and tried to tell herself the witch deserved it. She was in the presence of the Horde Lord, she had more important things to deal with. She spun around to face him and saluted.

“I’ve successfully infiltrated the Rebellion’s headquarters.” She said quickly and his sneer faded. He stalked around the spot where she was manifesting. His every movement seemed to radiate power. Shadow Weaver had a certain aura of mystic force between the way she moved without ever seeming to take a step, the blank mask, and the darkness that gathered around her constantly; but Hordak needed none of that. 

His clawed hands were held casually at his sides, but the wicked points of them were bare for the world to see, spread and ready. The harsh lines of his face caught shadow and light alike in a way that made his calculating eyes pierce like arrows, and the set of his broad shoulders was poised. He was like a predator that didn’t even have to think about how dangerous it was and the effect was as intimidating as it was effortless.

“Infiltrated,” Shadow Weaver spat, seeming to drag herself closer to Catra through the air as her voice rose to a shrill shout. “You defected, you useless worm, and took Adora with you. What did you say to her-” Hordak held up a hand and Shadow Weaver fell silent.

“You are Force Captain applicant Catra, correct?” His voice was level, but it roiled with some tension that made her very glad she wasn’t actually in the room with him. She nodded, unable to quite find her voice. “Shadow Weaver’s report claims you manipulated Force Captain Adora into abandoning the Horde with you. And now you contact us claiming a successful infiltration.” He glared at Shadow Weaver, but kept his hand up for her silence, “explain.”

“Adora-” her mind raced, she would have to give Adora up to them wouldn’t she? There was no way to spin what Adora had done without incriminating one or both of them. And this was one time Catra refused to go down with her. 

She steeled herself, “returned to the Fright Zone to take me and escape. Shadow Weaver wanted me to tell her what Adora was planning, but as she found out when she tried to stop us, the weapon Adora found far outclasses her abilities.” Catra heard Shadow Weaver start to snarl but she continued on regardless. “There was no way to stop her. Sir.” His eyes narrowed but he drew away, taking a step back as his scrutiny became more passive.

“So you decided to instead accompany her, and report on your findings?” He was filling in the blanks for her, and he knew it.

“Yes, sir.” She swallowed, time to sell. “I’m ready to make my first report.”

“Lord Hordak, you cannot honestly be thinking of humoring this girl.” Shadow Weaver snapped, drifting towards him. “She has constantly fallen behind in her training, she is unruly, disrespectful, she has every reason to lie.”

“You have personally raised two wards, Force Commander,” Hordak growled at her, she shrunk back away from him, “and only one of those two has seen fit to return to you with anything of worth. If you have not instilled a proper sense of respect in her that is your own failing and no concern of mine, but she has at least demonstrated the priorities needed for me to speak with her.”

He turned to Catra and she had to fight to keep still, this was working, she might still have a way to keep her head. “Kneel,” he commanded and she obeyed before she even had the chance to think about it. “Report, how does the Rebellion fare?”

“Practically speaking, Lord Hordak, there is no Rebellion.” She let a little bit of her irritation with this fact leak into her voice.

“Explain,” she glanced up at the naked curiosity in his voice. He liked her distaste, she could use that.

“They have less than a thousand soldiers,” she let herself sneer, “some no-name archer, four Princesses- if we’re counting Adora-”

“We are,” Hordak interrupted before Shadow Weaver could and Catra almost faltered for a moment, but now that she’d given it an opening her temper kept her moving.

“Two of them are worthless, and they are led by Queen Angella, who from what I’ve been able to gather, is just as useless.” She spat, remembering how Bow had hesitated when she met him. “From the level of threat they pose to the Horde, there is no Rebellion,” she let herself snarl, this entire situation was beyond idiotic, she could hardly believe she’d been roped into this. “There are six morons in a castle pretending there’s a Rebellion.” A grim, satisfied smile slid across Hordak’s face.

“And what of the Princess Alliance?”

“Disbanded, though Princess Glimmer is trying to reform it.” The smile slid off of Hordak’s face and he turned, clasping his arms behind his back. “Is that a problem?”

“The Princess Alliance was the only credible threat to the Horde when it was first formed,” he rumbled, rolling his neck like he was stretching out an old injury. “If they have learned anything from last time, as I have, a reformation could be catastrophic.”

“With respect, Lord,” Catra wrestled her temper back into place so she wouldn’t sneer on his title, at the fact that he had power over her. “They’re defenseless right now, all it would take is one attack to eliminate the Rebellion before they even start.”

“The Whispering Woods present an obstacle that has proven… insurmountable thus far.” He turned back to Catra, his eyes keen on her. “Have they shown you how they control it?” Catra blinked and tried to think of an answer that wouldn’t disappoint him. She came up blank.

“If they have a way to control it, I haven’t seen it yet. But I don’t think they can, they get lost in it too. The Princess and the archer that found Adora when she first left found her by chance, and found their way back out the same way.”

“A double edged sword, then,” to say he murmured would have been a disservice to how his voice carried but it did lower slightly, “it keeps us out, but keeps them in.”

“Exactly.”

“A final question,” his eyes narrowed at her, “what do you intend to gain from this?” He was watching her carefully. He didn’t want the answer that died on her lips before she could even say it, ‘the glory of the Horde.’ He wanted the truth, this was his test, to see if he could trust her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she would have to tell the truth, or _a_ truth if she wanted this to work. She let that jealous part of her take hold, feeling buried resentment that she’d been feeding all night erupt, hot and petty.

“When this is over, I want Adora to watch it come down around her.” She felt herself puffing up but couldn’t make herself care about appearances as she continued. “Then I want to drag her back to the Fright Zone in chains.” She opened her eyes to look right into Hordak’s cold stare. “She will be stripped of any power she gains as She-Ra, will have no authority within the Horde, and will speak to no one but you and me. She’ll be stuck getting me coffee and filing paperwork for the rest of her life, and no one else will even know she exists or see her face again. See how she likes being second best.”

It was a cruel, petty, vindictive sort of fantasy, one that she’d shied away from more than once, but whenever she felt that jealous spark flare too bright some version of it always helped to calm her down. It was the perfect thing to appeal to someone as ruthless as Hordak.

“Revenge, then,” his face was blank, considering. Shadow Weaver’s cloak seemed to boil around her, her gaze so furious Catra could practically see her struggling to find the words for it. Catra’s heart pounded in her chest. He didn’t look pleased, but he didn’t look displeased. She hadn’t said anything he didn’t want to hear, but it had been a mistake to say something that didn’t interest him, either. 

After a few long moments where she was convinced he was going to refuse her, he finally spoke. “It will serve. Rise, Spymaster Catra.”

As he turned away from her and she got back to her feet something that felt like vindication settled in her chest. She was Spymaster. Even after running from the Horde, making a fool out of Shadow Weaver, and sabotaging half the Fright Zone’s transports, the title that had been dangled in front of her like a light at the end of the tunnel was _hers._ Shadow Weaver finally found her voice again to protest but it was too late, she’d lost. For the first time in her life Catra had won, really won.

“You cannot honestly trust this- this-”

“I look forward to your next report.” Hordak glanced back over his shoulder, “maintain whatever cover you wish and do not waste my time with petty troop movements. If their numbers are as feeble as you claim, neither will matter. You will report to us when, and only when, there is activity concerning the reformation of the Alliance or information regarding the weaknesses of the Whispering Woods.” 

His gaze slid over to Shadow Weaver, “and you, will not hinder her, or there will be consequences. You can’t afford to lose access to the Black Garnet in your condition. Can you, Force Commander?” Shadow Weaver seethed but remained silent, her head bowing with an awkward tilt like she was just a tube of something soft being bent. “Now end the transmission.”

One of Shadow Weaver’s hands came up like someone was dangling it on a string and she grabbed one of the whirling shards out of the air.

The entire array stopped spinning, the shards swooping to the one in her grip before darkness swallowed Catra’s vision again. When it cleared the gem was whole again, floating in the air before Catra. She reached out and took it, it felt hot in her grip but didn’t burn.

She’d done it, she and Adora both had a place with the winning side. She expected to feel a twinge of guilt over how little of a place she’d afforded Adora, but it never came. There was just a giddy thrill in her chest at having outplayed everyone- Shadow Weaver, Adora, the Rebellion, _everyone_ \- from her spot backed into a corner. The vindictive roil in the back of her mind was still, contented.

A disbelieving chuckle forced its way out of her before she could stop it. She’d be able to worry about Adora later, for now she had a cover to maintain and information to gather.

* * *

Adora woke with a start to the sound of screaming. Her head jerked up and she forced herself onto her hands and knees, shouting on pure reflex. Glimmer sat across from her, pointing and shouting her lungs out. Adora managed to shut her mouth, but Glimmer tipped backwards out of the bed, landing with the sound of her teleporting and then an oof.

Adora was suddenly very glad she hadn’t been able to find Catra last night. This was definitely another for the list of things Catra would never let her live down.

The rasp of Catra’s laugh came from below, along with Glimmer shouting. Adora winced.

“You too!?” Adora peeked over the side of the bed to see Glimmer shakily standing up. Catra was lounging on the windowsill, about four pillows piled beneath her.

“Sorry,” Adora called, Glimmer snapped her head around to look up at her.

“What are you even doing in my bed?” She demanded, gesturing up at Adora before turning back to Catra, “and why are you in my window?”

“I’m sorry,” Adora started, “I just-”

“She destroyed her bed last night, somehow.” Catra interrupted, stretching lazily.

“Well, that. But I’ve also never slept without other people around, and Catra wasn’t in her room when I went to check.” Adora blinked, “where were you, anyways?”

“Raiding the kitchens.” Catra dug a nail in between her teeth and Glimmer groaned.

“Also, Glimmer, I ran into your mom, and I- I don’t think she likes me.” Adora winced as Glimmer’s expression shifted from irritation to concern, Catra’s ears twitched and she retracted her claws. Adora almost wished she hadn’t said that.

“What? My mom loves you,” Glimmer said and something familiar lurched in Adora’s stomach.

“Yeah, sure. She loves She-Ra,” she murmured, retreating away from the edge of the bed and turning around so she wouldn’t have to see the way they were no doubt looking at her now. The metallic sound of Glimmer’s power filled the air for a moment and the hanging bed shifted. Glimmer took a breath before she began speaking.

“Mom can be a little…” Adora felt Glimmer’s small hand press to one of her shoulders, Catra’s familiar one clasping the other side and she let herself uncurl. “Intense.” Catra scoffed at that and as Adora looked back at the two of them she caught Glimmer shooting Catra a quick offended glare. “But, our weekly meeting with the generals is today. And you’re both invited. She wouldn’t have invited you if she didn’t like you.”

As they climbed down out of Glimmer’s bed, Catra leaned a little closer to murmur in Adora’s ear.

“What did she say to you?”

“Not to disappoint Glimmer,” she murmured back. Catra’s brow furrowed as she looked ahead to Glimmer.

“You won’t,” Catra gave her a quick pat on the back before moving away, obviously done talking.

Adora watched them both as Glimmer led the way. Catra had clammed up last night after Glimmer had told them the Alliance was broken and Adora was glad she didn’t seem to be moody anymore, but there was something different now. Something in the way she held herself that Adora recognized from when she’d catch glimpses of Catra waiting for the best opportunity to strike in their training simulations.

Catra was watching for something, but what? Catra turned her head and caught Adora’s eyes on her, and just like that it was gone; her posture relaxed, casual again. Adora blinked, but then Bow joined them and the moment was lost in distraction.

As they stepped into the meeting room Adora had to stop and stare. It was so much grander than anything from the Fright Zone. There was no part of the Fright Zone that was built for aesthetics like so much of the castle was, but Adora had never realized that a room could be given personality just through decoration.

To Adora, the feeling of a room had always come through her experiences in it. The Black Garnet chamber set her heart racing with fear, a place she only ever saw the inside of if something had gone wrong. Their old barracks held a strange but familiar mixture of comfort and unease, a haven from the rest of their day, but one that could be violated at any time.

These walls told a story from the moment she set foot in them. The mural spread across them told of the first Princess Alliance. There was a chair for each figure shown, and to know that most of them weren’t going to be filled gave what would have been an awe inspiring sight an unhappy weight.

It was almost hard to wrap her head around the fact that the Alliance was broken looking at this, even mostly featureless they looked so sure, so powerful. But then she realized who the man standing in front of Angella at the center of the mural must have been. Micah was the only one with his hands closed, a scepter in his grip and thrust into the floor. A lynchpin, holding the Queen to the earth, and her wings encompassing the others, holding them together.

He was one of the first casualties, and the Alliance had broken after a devastating defeat. Had his death been the end, or had the Queen steadily lost her grip on the others without her tether?

It made Adora wonder what would have happened to her if she’d lost Catra.

She sat down and was broken from her thoughts by several people hissing through their teeth. She looked up, wide-eyed, to see almost everyone else in the room staring at her.

“What?” She said lamely.

“Oh, this oughta be good,” Catra smirked, putting her feet up on the table at her spot almost on the other side of it. Bow and Glimmer were shaking their heads frantically. Adora’s mind raced with nothing going through it, blank and panicky all of the sudden.

“What? I don’t understand.”

“This,” Queen Angella’s voice made her jump, “is not your chair.” Her voice was level, but the eye she was giving Adora was just shy of a glare. Adora froze under it.

“Sorry, first day.” Glimmer came to her rescue, taking her by the shoulders. “Won’t happen again.” The experience of being disassembled and then reformed that went along with Glimmer’s power was many things, most of which were best described as ‘strange but not uncomfortable.’ Today, Adora discovered that ‘good for shaking out of a freeze’ was one of them. She felt motion return with a slight shudder in her fingertips and leaned towards Glimmer, taking as firm a hold of herself as she could.

“What did I do?” She asked in a whisper that did very little to hide the panic still running through her. Glimmer’s expression fell into something she’d seen once before, in the ruins of a village half eaten by the Whispering Woods, weighty and furrowed.

“You sat in my dad’s chair,” she said, her voice low and muddled, her eyes averted from Adora’s.

“Oh,” Adora murmured. Micah’s chair, left empty in respect. Adora let her eyes fall to the floor, she felt like an idiot. “I’m sorry.” She glanced up at Angella, her hand on the back of the chair and that same heavy expression on her face for a moment before she turned to address the table, her face once again a mask of solemn regality.

“I’ve asked you here because I received a distress call from Princess Perfuma.” Glimmer took her seat again while the Queen spoke. Adora sat straighter, hoping undivided attention would help make up for her mistake. “The Horde is laying siege to her kingdom. She’s asking Bright Moon for assistance.” The Queen turned to address one of the soldiers ringing the room, “General?”

A woman stepped forwards, pulling off her helm. Her armour was slightly different from the others, her helm lacking the noseguard the others had- which she had evidently paid the price for at some point given the pale scar across her nose on an otherwise dark face- and the long cloak the others had was trimmed down to a cape.

“Perfuma’s kingdom,” the woman said, “Plumeria, is located near the front lines.” She placed a hand on the table and with a faint shimmering sound a holographic map of Etheria rose from its surface. “The Horde has set up camp in her territory, cutting off their supply routes.”

“Bright Moon will provide food and humanitarian aid.” The Queen spoke with the authority of someone who had made up her mind and would not be budged. Adora felt her brow crease, humanitarian aid would only go so far against Horde siege tactics, but she didn’t feel she was in a position to speak up. Glimmer had no such reservations.

“I have a better idea.” She rose from her seat, her eyes eager. “We-”

“We fight the Horde?” Angella sighed, throwing Glimmer the most impeccably poised sidelong glance Adora had ever seen. “Glimmer, you propose this idea every meeting.”

“No!” Glimmer said cheerfully, “I was gonna say let’s use aggressive face-to-fist sparkles.” Light flashed around Glimmer’s raised fist to emphasise her point. Adora’s first instinct was to try and pull Glimmer away, questioning authority like that never ended well.

“I said, no, Glimmer.” The Queen rose from her seat, her wings flaring, her eyes stern and… frightened? “Now sit down.”

“If you two are done,” Catra drawled carelessly from her spot at the table before Glimmer could even finish deflating. “I see something here you might want to think about.” All eyes shifted to Catra.

She’d taken her feet off the table at some point and was staring down at the map with more focus than Adora had seen her put into much of anything in years. Catra’s eyes flicked up to the Queen. “This isn’t a siege.” Angella blinked but it was the General who spoke.

“What are you talking about? They’ve cut them off.”

“Was there a messenger?” Catra demanded sharply, her mouth stretching into the toothy grin she put on when she knew she’d win an argument.

“Yes, but I don’t see how that’s relevant-”

“Then this isn’t a siege.” Catra leaned over the map to press a finger over a spot on it between two of the red lights on the map representing Horde outposts, “they got out through here, right?”

“Yes.”

“If you can’t use the roads, that’s the quickest route from Plumeria to Bright Moon.” Catra leaned back into her seat, gesturing over the rest of the red lights on the map. “If this were a siege, that’s the first place they’d fortify once they have the roads.” She glanced over at Adora and winked, Adora nodded back, a warm feeling spreading through her at the sight of Catra really applying herself. “If you don’t know how Horde sieges work it looks like one, but they’re not trying to keep anyone in, just everyone else out.”

Catra turned her attention back to Angella. “Sieges are about attrition, something the Horde is very, very good at, but it doesn’t work if your opponent can just run. They’re trying to chase them out, but they don’t want to directly engage, so, blockade.”

Adora felt her brow furrow as she looked back down to the map. Catra was right, there were too few outposts for a proper siege. Then why wouldn’t they engage? Were the Plumerians too formidable, was the terrain bad? They were missing information.

“What’s Plumeria like militarily?” Adora asked, her mind working managing to drown out her earlier embarrassment. Angella sighed but answered the question.

“They are pacifist, and have been as such since the Alliance fell. They have no standing army to speak of.” If military opposition was that much of a non-issue then it wouldn’t be terrain, either. Terrain wasn’t really a problem for the Horde if no one was going to fight them on it.

“Maybe that’s why they’re being so lax.” Adora turned to Catra, directing it more as a question to her. Catra looked across the map again and shook her head.

“No, if that was it they wouldn’t even bother with a blockade, they’d just march in and take it.” Catra looked across the murals and chairs for a second. “There’s something in there. Something that the locals can’t just take with them if they run, but the Horde don’t want to risk damaging in an outright attack. What’s in Plumeria that can’t be moved?”

The Queen’s brow twitched irritably, but she lowered her gaze to the map as well, centering on the enormous tree that represented Plumeria before she answered.

“The Heart Blossom, Princess Perfuma’s runestone.”

“Runestone?” Catra scoffed, “your runestone is _floating_ out front, you’re telling me that can’t be moved?”

“Perfuma’s runestone is different,” The Queen said with a familiar kind of simmering patience that almost caused a flash of panic in Adora. “It is the core of the great tree in the center of Plumeria. That,” she gestured to the tree on the map, “is to scale.” Catra’s eyes went wide and Adora felt her own do the same.

“Wow,” Adora breathed before a thought struck her. “If it’s the Runestone they’re after, Shadow Weaver will be in charge of this personally.”

“Heart Blossom…” Catra hummed, looking around at the chairs again until her eyes settled on the symbol of a leaf. “What’s Perfuma’s power?” Angella was beginning to look less tired and more concerned.

“She controls plant life,” she said before both her and Catra’s brows twitched at once.

“The Plant Princess, in the middle of a forest, with that thing in it, is asking for _food?_ ” Catra said slowly. The Queen sat up a little straighter. “Something’s happening to her powers.” Glimmer and Bow both gasped, Adora began to feel a spark of recognition. “Whatever Shadow Weaver wants to do with the Heart Blossom, she’s already started.”

“But that’s impossible,” Angella snapped, though she sounded less convinced of it than she obviously wanted to be. “Only a Royal can manipulate a Runestone.”

“There is a precedent for Shadow Weaver doing this,” Adora spoke up again, “Princess Scorpia is with the Horde, she’s a Force Captain.” Catra blinked at that, Adora shrugged. “They covered it in Force Captain Orientation. The Black Garnet should be hers, but she has no connection to it, Shadow Weaver has it instead.”

“She can steal runestones.” Angella’s eyes were narrowed, her fingers drumming against the table. “Of course she can,” her voice came out as close to a growl as Adora was sure she’d ever hear from the Queen.

“Mom,” Glimmer offered cautiously, “if the Horde is targeting Perfuma’s runestone we can’t just let them. Please, we at least need to offer Perfuma her seat in the Alliance back.”

The Queen’s expression cleared as she straightened her back, her wings shifting unsteadily. Adora blinked as something began to click, she was retreating, spooked.

“No, Glimmer,” she sighed, clasping her hands together. “I have made my decision, this is a humanitarian mission only.” She lowered her hands to the table and Adora caught them trembling. “In fact, with this new information-” It was Glimmer, she was afraid for Glimmer.

And why wouldn’t she be? The Horde had already killed her husband, and now her daughter wanted to charge headfirst into them. If Glimmer was going to be allowed to start building anything that could stand up to the Horde, Angella would need assurances. Luckily, Adora had lots of practice advocating.

“Send me, Glimmer, Bow, and Catra to protect the supplies.” Adora interrupted, standing abruptly. “I have She-Ra and Catra is very capable.” More so than Adora was likely to be with She-Ra- inexperienced as she was controlling that body- but mentioning that wouldn’t help her sell this. “We can make sure everyone gets in and out safely, and tell the Plumerians what they might be able to do.” The Queen’s piercing eyes settled on Adora. “Purely advisory, of course. I promise, we won’t disappoint you.” Her eyes flicked to Glimmer and after a terribly long moment she sighed.

“Very well. You will deliver food and supplies, and tell them anything you know of how to combat Shadow Weaver’s influence.” Her wings shifted open wider as she continued speaking. “Under _no circumstances_ will you actively engage the Horde.” She glanced towards Glimmer and seemed to deflate a little, “...you leave at dawn.”

Adora released a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and glanced down at Glimmer who was beaming at her. Adora had to hold in an excited giggle as she sat back down.

The rest of the meeting was updates from different scouts along the borders, almost uniformly reporting that the Horde was maintaining their positions, there were more than a few reports of Horde supply drops arriving late or not at all. Adora threw Catra a grin whenever that was the case, Catra would throw her one back before they both got back to listening.

Their first mission for the Rebellion. Alongside the excitement something heavy settled in her gut. This needed to go perfectly.

* * *

Catra thought her first military meeting had gone pretty well. It was surprisingly easy to put the fact that she was spying on these people out of her head and just do what they expected from her. Like Hordak had said, it wouldn’t matter what she told them about the Horde’s tactics or goals, they might try to do something about it but it wasn’t like they could actually manage it.

The tail end of the meeting had been planning their approach into Plumeria and Catra had to say, playing for the Horde actually made things way less stressful than if she’d been counting on the Rebellion to win. She didn’t have to care about any of this working, just making sure there were ways she and Adora could avoid getting caught executing it. Like it was all a thought exercise to keep her occupied until something actually important came up. 

Plus it made Adora look at her like she’d just discovered fire or something every time she had the best idea in the room, so that was definitely a bonus.

“Catra,” Angella’s voice stopped Catra as she rose from the table, “a word.” That was less than promising. If Adora had been watching her like a moonrise, the Queen had been watching her like she was making a mess Angella would have to clean up later. She hadn’t stopped Catra from talking, but she hadn’t let Catra just say anything without backing it up, either. Another testy commanding officer, wonderful.

Adora threw Catra a worried glance and Catra rolled her eyes, waving her off towards the door.

“She’s not Shadow Weaver, get going.” Adora still hesitated, but left with the others.

Catra didn’t sit back down, and Angella didn’t seem all that interested in making her, instead looking down at the map over steepled hands.

“I don’t think I would call you responsible,” Angella started, turning her face towards Catra, “but I do believe I could consider you practically minded, yes?” Catra blinked, it was a pointed, almost critical question but she asked it so plainly, the same way she’d talk about the weather. Catra wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“Depends on what that means,” she hazarded, watching Angella carefully.

“When you look at our posts on this map, what do you think of?” Angella unclasped her hands to gesture across the map. Catra’s eyes flicked across the blue points, then immediately to the nearest red points. A few of them were dangerously close to one another, close enough for either one to begin attempting to sabotage the other’s supply lines. If it came down to it, though, there couldn’t have been more than ten soldiers to a Rebellion outpost where the Horde ones would have dozens each.

“Supply lines, troop density, risk, reward.” She had to stop herself from growling in the back of her throat, “you’re in bad shape. The Horde has you basically pinned down, not a lot of options.”

“That is what I mean by practical,” Angella said, lowering her hands off the table to rest in her lap. “You think in terms of what can be done, not what must be. That is why I wished to speak with you alone.” She stood gracefully, drawing herself tall. Catra had thought it had just been the fact that her throne sat on a literal pedestal above the rest of the room that had made her seem to tower over everyone last night, but now it was obvious the Queen was just that tall.

As Angella moved around the table to stand in front of her, Catra felt a familiar fear start to stir and then die. Angella didn’t seem angry, her voice was level, calm, and there wasn’t a trace of hostility in the way she held herself. Catra actually wasn’t sure what any part of Angella’s posture meant right then, but even if she couldn’t read Angella’s face she could still read the context.

“Okay,” she said slowly. She was trying to appear relaxed, but having to crane her neck to look up at Angella was setting something wary in her chest. “What do you want?”

“Adora and Glimmer are the opposite, they see what must be done with no regard for what can be accomplished. This is something that I would like your help keeping a lid on.” Catra felt her brow go up before she could stop it and crossed her arms.

“I’m listening.”

“I love my daughter dearly, and Adora obviously means well. But, they’re heroes,” Angella sighed, “even if they recognize a losing battle, they will fight it anyway to satisfy that.” There was something bitter, almost disdainful in the way she said the word ‘heroes’ but it still set that jealous part of Catra roiling again. “I have spent the last forty years watching the Horde eat heroes.” A fierceness flashed through Angella’s expression for a moment. “I will not watch them do the same to Glimmer.”

“How do you know I’m not like that, too?” Catra challenged before she could think better of it, trying to ignore the insecurity obvious in the question. Angella cocked a brow at her.

“A blockade is much easier to break than a siege,” she said, moving back towards the table to point at the red dots ringing Plumeria. “Less cohesive, vulnerable to guerrilla tactics because of it, and lacking in the sort of heavy firepower that siege engines provide. Yet I’m certain it never even crossed your mind to suggest we try.” Catra blinked, it hadn’t occurred to her because it would never have worked.

Angella’s expression softened, “I’m not calling you a coward. Breaking the blockade directly would take resources we don’t have and time the Horde won’t give us. You recognize that, Glimmer does not, and I’m afraid Adora will follow her wherever she leads. You realize the necessity of working within your means, that is something that in my experience heroes do not.”

Catra watched her for a long moment, considering. While Adora’s ‘means’ had been broader than most people in the Horde’s, Catra wouldn’t say she didn’t recognize them. That was actually the thing that drove Catra up a wall the most about her, Adora didn’t lift a finger unless she was sure it would get results most of the time. 

It was a new feeling to have someone underestimate Adora instead of her, Catra wasn’t sure she liked it. Glimmer on the other hand, she could easily see her charging ahead.

That was the crux of the thing, wasn’t it? Glimmer could and would get herself in trouble, and Adora would step in to save her, probably taking a heavy hit in the process. She hadn’t stopped doing that in the training sims until Shadow Weaver started failing the entire squad for it, and if it happened on the battlefield Catra might honestly kill Glimmer herself.

They probably wouldn’t get themselves killed, but they could get each other killed far too easily.

“Fine,” she growled after a minute, “what do you need me to do?” Angella let out a quiet breath of relief and Catra suddenly realized she’d actually had a choice. This wasn’t an order, it was a request. She couldn’t stop her ears from quirking and her face from twitching with curiosity, she’d never seen someone with power do that before.

“Thank you,” Angella straightened up. “All I need from you is to remind them of their limits. Bow will try to help you, but I’m afraid he’s a touch too reckless himself, and easily swayed by Glimmer besides.”

“I was probably gonna do that anyways,” Catra shrugged.

“And you cannot tell them I asked you to. Glimmer is already…” she clasped her hands and glanced down towards the table, her expression troubled, “chafing, under my supervision. If she knew, she would resist you on principle instead of thinking about what you say.”

Catra shrugged again, another secret for the pile, a much smaller one. She studied Angella’s expression, trying to pick it apart. She was worried, just short of terrified, really, but there was something softer underneath it. Something she’d only ever really seen on Adora before.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” She asked, expecting that jealous part of her to start snapping any second.

“Of course I do,” Angella looked at Catra like she’d just said something strange and vaguely horrifying, “she’s my daughter.” The jealousy never came, instead something heavy settled in her gut and she buried it before it could show up on her face.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Catra nodded and tried not to feel like she’d just made a promise she’d already broken.


	6. Intermission 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra's second scene in the last chapter originally came to me from Angella's point of view.

Catra was strange, Angella thought to herself as she watched her across the table. She had discovered last night that Adora, for all her dramatics, wasn’t anything less than sincere. That boded ill in its own right; but Catra spoke with a bravado that at a glance would have seemed unshakeable, and set her shoulders like she was walking on eggshells. Every chance she got she would look to Adora, and in the spare instant before she remembered herself, Catra would get a look. Almost as if she was afraid the other girl would vanish between seconds. 

Confidence was the shield Catra hid behind, so Angella began looking for the cracks.

Catra shot down plans that Angella would have thought the girl that she presented- flippant, restless, so much like Angella’s darling Glimmer- would have jumped at. Her suggestions were given bluntly, almost disrespectfully if Angella was honest. Like they were simply the most obvious courses of action, but each was careful, as safe as could be hoped for at every stage. And yet, she never shied away from the possibility of combat, something in the quirk of her expressions becoming almost eager as she went over positioning in case of ambush.

There was a violence curled inside of Catra, but as the meeting went on it became equally clear that it had been tamed, or at least leashed. She did not take risks when she could avoid them, even if her eyes thinned to slits when she had to. Each time someone offered something she had no better alternative to her eyes would flick to Adora and Angella would recognize something in her gaze, a familiar terror.

If Angella was honest with herself- something she’d always struggled with according to those who knew her- she would say Catra would make an excellent midground between Angella’s own miring stillness and Glimmer’s impatience. Then again, Glimmer had mentioned that Catra had apparently been seen as a brilliant up-and-coming strategist in the Horde, so she supposed that balance came with practice. Maintaining it definitely seemed to take considerable effort on her part.

If she was trying, then that meant she would be able to adjust, which would make her invaluable. Too many of the professed ‘master strategists’ she’d known in her life were simply naturals and didn’t know how to adjust to the unexpected or work outside of their chosen scale because of it. They would lose battles to win skirmishes or ignore skirmishes until they lost the greater battle anyways because of it and both were infuriating.

Angella felt her brow furrow for a moment but brought her face back to calm, she was circling something she’d already made a decision on in her gut. She trusted Adora would try to look out for Glimmer, but Adora, for all the anxiety obvious in her, was still too close to Glimmer’s mindset.

Adora would accomplish her mission, consequences be damned, even if it cost her own life. Angella was still wary of her, but losing She-Ra because she followed Glimmer too far in a foolhardy charge would be a devastating blow to the Rebellion’s already crumbling moral. Catra, on the other hand, seemed more likely to grab the both of them by their collars and force them to come up with a better plan than charge in after them.

She had the feeling Catra was the sort to ignore the consequences of speaking out of turn to those of higher rank than her, but it would still be good to make sure she knew she was encouraged to in this case.

“Catra,” she called as the others rose from their seats, “a word.” Perhaps too formal, too authoritative, but she needed to be sure Glimmer didn’t realize what she wanted, it would sabotage her efforts.

Adora’s eyes flashed with terror, Angella had pushed a button, she’d need to remember that.

“She’s not Shadow Weaver, get going,” Catra scoffed as she waved Adora away. There was a moment where it almost seemed Adora would stand her ground, but she obeyed. Catra didn’t take her seat again once the room was empty, her arms crossed, a strange, shrinking defiance in her gaze.

“I don’t think I would call you responsible,” Angella began truthfully, Catra certainly did not give off an air of dependability. She almost hesitated, that had been perhaps overly harsh, “but I do believe I could consider you practically minded, yes?”

Catra blinked, she was keeping her face carefully blank so even that much was enough to tell Angella the question was unexpected.

“Depends on what that means,” she offered back. She was probing, watching for intent, so Angella would provide.

“When you look at our posts on this map, what do you think of?” She gestured across the map.

Catra’s keen eyes flickered over the map, her pupils narrowing to suspicious slits. Whatever she was seeing she didn’t like it. Angella couldn’t help but agree.

“Supply lines, troop density, risk, reward.” There was a tension underneath Catra’s voice as she spoke, “you’re in bad shape. The Horde has you basically pinned down, not a lot of options.” Angella nodded and silently wished Glimmer could see that sometimes.

“That is what I mean by practical.” Catra’s eyes had gone back to studying her. “You think in terms of what can be done, not what must be. That is why I wished to speak with you alone.” Angella stood carefully. Catra was poised to startle, perhaps that meant she would run, perhaps it meant she would refuse to even consider what Angella said. She couldn’t be sure either way so she approached without intent, keeping herself calm to ensure Catra wouldn’t panic.

She watched Catra’s mind work for a moment, the details of it hidden behind her eyes, but the way they scanned over her made it clear she was thinking intently.

“Okay,” Catra finally began, speaking slowly as if she was still piecing together what Angella meant by any of this. “What do you want?”

“Adora and Glimmer are the opposite,” Angella had to stop herself from getting wistful at that. To think she’d be forced to conspire with Glimmer’s friends to keep her safe. “They see what must be done with no regard for what can be accomplished. This is something I would like your help keeping a lid on.”

Catra’s brow twitched and she crossed her arms, Angella had surprised her, but not enough to spook her just yet.

“I’m listening.”

“I love my daughter dearly, and Adora obviously means well. But, they’re heroes.” Something strange passed through Catra’s eyes as Angella continued, “even if they recognize a losing battle, they will fight it anyways to satisfy that.” Angella felt a flicker of anger in the back of her mind but kept it under control, she could ill afford to spook Catra now, but she still needed to impress the importance of this. “I have spent the last forty years watching the Horde eat heroes, I will not watch them do the same to Glimmer.”

“How do you know I’m not like that, too?” Catra snapped and Angella suddenly recognized the look in her eyes, jealousy. How odd, as if Catra didn’t recognize the worth of being something other than what Adora was even as she obviously worried over its dangers.

Oh. Angella felt something inside of herself flinch but kept it to simply a raised brow.

“A blockade is much easier to break than a siege,” she offered, moving back to the map. “Less cohesive, vulnerable to guerrilla tactics because of it, and lacking in the sort of heavy firepower that siege engines provide. Yet I’m certain it never even crossed your mind to suggest we try.”

Catra almost flinched and Angella silently cursed herself; too tactical, she’d come off as accusatory. “I’m not calling you a coward,” she assured her. “Breaking the blockade directly would take resources we don’t have and time the Horde won’t give us. You recognize that, Glimmer does not, and I’m afraid Adora will follow her wherever she leads. You realize the necessity of working within your means, that is something that in my experience heroes do not.”

Catra watched her for a long moment and Angella lowered her hands, trying to appear open in a way she certainly didn’t feel. As Catra’s stare stretched from ten seconds to dozens Angella felt herself becoming restless. She wouldn’t interrupt Catra’s thoughts, but it felt as if the longer she thought on it, the more likely she was to refuse.

“Fine,” Catra finally relented, “what do you need me to do?” Angella allowed herself to release the breath she’d been holding, and something strange happened. Catra’s mask of almost irritated indifference didn’t so much crack as it did fall off entirely, her entire expression twitching with confusion and curiosity.

For a moment Angella wasn’t quite sure what had triggered it, then she realized what that breath had meant. She’d been relieved that Catra hadn’t refused her. That meant Catra had a choice.

Angella felt that same thing inside of her shy away from the realization but she faced it head on regardless. On an intellectual level she’d known Catra and Adora had been raised in the Horde, and now she was being confronted with what that meant. Angella was in a position of power, if she’d ordered it Catra would likely have done just about anything she asked. To give her a choice in the matter was like she’d suddenly begun speaking backwards, Catra likely hadn’t ever even dreamed that _could_ happen.

“Thank you,” Angella rallied, she still needed to get through this before she could let this break her. “All I need from you is to remind them of their limits,” she tried to keep the pleading out of her voice but she couldn’t deny she was shaken. “Bow will try to help you, but I’m afraid he’s a touch too reckless himself, and easily swayed by Glimmer besides.”

“I was probably gonna do that anyways,” Catra shrugged.

“And you cannot tell them I asked you to.” Angella was careful with her choice of words, if just asking was something strange, who even knew what encouraging would be. “Glimmer is already…” she clasped her hands, it ached to admit this but there was hardly any denying it, “chafing, under my supervision. If she knew, she would resist you on principle instead of listening to what you say.”

Catra shrugged again as Angella gathered herself. Then Catra said something that made that made her heart, the part of herself that had been flinching away from the encroaching reality of the situation, break.

“You really care about her, don’t you?” It wasn’t that she’d said it that made Angella feel sick to her stomach. It was how she said it, soft, yearning and curious, that made Angella’s wings feel like lead. They were _children,_ Glimmer, Catra, all of them, and the world had become so harsh that here was one of them standing in front of her asking about care like it was something secret and forbidden, something rarely seen and even more rarely true. 

_“She’s not Shadow Weaver.”_ Angella had to keep herself from scowling as she realized who was responsible for this.

The cloying sense of failure that had kept her still for so long sat on her chest like a boulder as she turned her attention back to Catra.

“Of course I do, she’s my daughter.” Catra’s gaze finally shifted away and her arms uncrossed as she nodded.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” she said.

Angella thanked her again and excused her. She needed to be alone before she broke.

The conversation had given her strange insight into Catra and Adora’s- really the whole Horde’s- world. Insight she hadn’t expected and that no small part of her wished she hadn’t gotten. 

It was jarring, to say the least, to have someone Glimmer’s age stand in front of her and only question her to make a show of it instead of being genuinely defiant or concerned. It was like Catra had been going through the motions of something she’d come to expect would end in everything she said being dismissed.

Was that how she’d been making Glimmer feel? She shuddered to think of it. She had never intended to make Glimmer feel like that. No child should have to feel like that.

She shook the thought from her head. Perhaps she has been holding Glimmer on too tight of a leash.

By the First Ones she was so tired. She glanced to Micah’s chair as she settled back into her own with a heavy sigh. Shadow Weaver, Light Spinner, even darling, brave Micah had always been hesitant to speak of his old mentor, but what she had coaxed out of him had been cold talons wrapped in warm cloth. Praise only coming at the expense of others, a temper always ready to snap, excuses to twist reality and justify whatever behavior she saw fit, whispers of ownership dressed in a poor facsimile of love and pride. 

He’d told her of a creeping isolation and how she had made him feel like he was both standing on top of the world and crushed underneath it at once. How her presence never quite left even after she was long gone, a cloying fear that could sometimes shake even his valiant nerve.

If someone like that was given free reign of the Horde, what might she be doing to those raised within it, to those who managed to capture her interest? What might she have already done to these girls who’d managed to escape the Horde’s grasp?

For the first time in what felt like decades she felt restlessness stirring in her bones, but there was nothing to do with it. She could not march into the Fright Zone and confront Light Spinner’s alter ego. She could not hold Micah tight to drive this predatory darkness from the edges of both their vision, and Glimmer would not indulge her in such an open display of fear. Foolhardy and affectionate like her father, but like Angella she easily fell into the trap of holding others at arm’s length so firmly that she could forget how to stop. Add onto that how fiercely she was trying to push out from her mother’s shadow and Glimmer had all but shut her out entirely.

Angella’s hands trembled and her heart ached, but all she could do was sit and breathe deep until her bones settled again.


	7. The Heart Blossom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora tries to understand.  
> Catra wants to climb a tree.  
> Plumeria is unprepared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was really difficult for several reasons. Not the least of which being that Flowers For She-Ra is the only episode of this show I actively dislike. I've figured out the rest of the arc now, so the next few should be much less difficult or clunky. Bonus game! Can you tell which scene I had to cut off because otherwise it was going to go on for another 2000 words?

To say Adora was nervous would have been a ridiculous understatement. There was so much riding on tomorrow’s mission. Not just Plumeria, but the Queen’s expectations for Glimmer, and from there the Princess Alliance as a whole. So, you know, no pressure. Then there was the fact that the Queen had wanted to get Catra alone, which set a familiar, panicky cocktail stirring inside of her.

“Hey,” she felt Bow’s hand settle on her shoulder and nearly jumped, but managed to keep it below a flinch. She turned to look at him and Glimmer, who was standing just off to the side watching her with concern. “She probably just found out about Catra stealing from the kitchens and wants to make sure she knows she doesn’t have to sneak around.” Adora felt a sort of resignation begin to settle around her shoulders.

She took a deep breath and smacked her hands into her cheeks hard enough to leave a distracting burn behind, Bow and Glimmer jumped. Catra was right, Angella wasn’t Shadow Weaver, Adora was just too wound up.

“You’re right,” she rolled her shoulders to try and shake off the heavy feeling, “I just need to hit something.” Glimmer had a look like Adora had just said the coolest thing she’d ever heard, Bow was rubbing his cheeks in sympathy.

“The training grounds are at the base of the castle,” Glimmer offered, “come on, I can show you.” 

“Oh!” Bow tapped a fist against his upturned palm. “I’ll meet you there, I just remembered we’ve got the jacket you left in Thaymore.” He smiled as Adora blinked at him, “I’ll go get it.” As he walked off she ran a finger along the still too stiff bottom seam of the jacket she’d brought with her from the Fright Zone. She’d considered the one she’d left behind as good as gone. It would be nice to have it back.

As they made their way down through the castle Adora couldn’t help but notice all the puzzled or suspicious looks she was getting from the guards. She took a deep breath to keep herself from faltering under them, she had a lot of experience looking form perfect under scrutiny but she hadn’t really thought she’d need it for anyone other than Shadow Weaver or Hordak- if she’d ever had the chance to meet him.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Glimmer said after a while moving through the halls. Adora hummed in question, was she talking about the guards? She figured there’d be a bit of an adjustment period for them. “My mom and I,” oh, that was it. “We don’t always… see eye to eye on things. Seems like she doesn’t think I can do much of anything sometimes.” Adora wasn’t sure what to say about that.

Her thoughts on the Queen were a little messy. She’d been fed propaganda about her for her entire life that didn’t really paint a favourable picture, and what she’d seen here so far had been very different from anything she’d expected- both before she found out the Rebellion were the good guys and after. She’d been expecting someone fierce, unshakeable; but the Queen seemed almost timid. Especially compared to Adora’s last commanding officer.

Adora shook her head, she’d probably manage to sort something out while she dealt with the restless tension keeping her on edge. For now she decided to give Glimmer a firm nod.

“It’s fine, you’ll get through to her eventually.” Glimmer smiled back at her, though there was something in the way she did it that felt like a formality and Adora knew she didn’t really believe her.

There was a small camp built around what looked to be the training grounds, people milled around and they got a couple looks and friendly nods, but no one paid the two of them much mind. “You come down here often?” Adora asked, Glimmer nodded.

“Yeah, I actually grew up around a lot of these people.” Glimmer waved to a frankly enormous woman with wide set horns who waved back before getting back to whatever conversation she’d been having before. “Mom keeps telling them we’ve got plenty of room for them in the palace but the general says this is better for discipline.”

It was almost weird for Adora to see people not really reacting to Glimmer, since she was a Princess and all, but she supposed that familiarity would do that sometimes.

It didn’t take long for them to find a punching bag and Adora got to work. Shifting through forms was like slipping back into her own skin. She hadn’t realized just how tense she’d gotten until the dull shocks of impact forced it out of her. She’d practically been tripping over herself on the way down and she hadn’t even noticed until her footing was sure for a strike. She thought back to the meeting and wondered at how just talking to people could wind her up so badly.

She always thought better during a workout, so once she’d found her groove properly she turned her mind to the Queen. The Queen’s primary concern was Glimmer. Before the war, before her territories, her daughter was what she would think of. The image of Shadow Weaver passed through her head for a moment but she shook it off with a kick against the bag. The Queen’s concern for Glimmer and Shadow Weaver’s obsession with Adora were different, she could tell that much. She wasn’t so worn down that she couldn’t see that. The end result might be the same, though; a ward who felt boxed in, trapped.

She would need to do more than just prove Glimmer was safe with her to earn the Queen’s confidence. They would need to prove Glimmer was safe on her own as well. How to do that while still following orders _and_ making sure real progress was being made was the question of the hour.

She had experience working around a commanding officer who wanted her to push herself past what was reasonable, but she’d never had to work around the opposite problem and no matter how much she punched this stupid bag she couldn’t quite parse it out.

With Shadow Weaver she could always push herself harder, she could ignore an injury, bite her tongue to keep moving past exhaustion and just listen without thinking. She could be the perfect soldier. But this, pushing harder would only make her push too far. Ignoring an injury always only made it worse in the long term. Tired soldiers made bad decisions, and that was what this was all about. Those split second decisions that meant the difference between making it through an op with everyone or losing someone along the way.

Shadow Weaver had always rather she’d lose a squadmate than time. The Queen wanted it the other way around. She blinked to herself and settled onto her back foot, breathing hard as she forced herself still again.

That had always been her first instinct, hadn’t it? When had she stopped doing that? She felt a knot in her chest so old she’d forgotten it was there uncurl. She could slow down, she _had_ to slow down. She could take the hits her friends couldn’t, she could actually _protect people._ It might not have been the answer she was searching for, but it was a practically physical weight off her shoulders nonetheless.

“You look like you’re having fun,” Catra said as she arrived, Adora turned to greet her and noticed her eyes were on Glimmer, who was blushing and trying very hard to look like she’d just been standing still the whole time. Catra cackled as she brushed past Glimmer, Bow coming in behind her with a bright grin on his face and Adora’s old jacket folded in his hands.

“Were you copying my form?” Adora asked, still a little out of breath. Catra leaned against her shoulder, throwing Glimmer a cocky smirk.

“I-” Glimmer sputtered for a moment, her face practically glowing red. “Yes.” Adora felt her own face light up as Bow handed her the old jacket.

“That’s good!” She said, Catra blinked at her and backed off a little as she swapped the jackets, taking a moment to enjoy how much more comfortably the older, well worn seams moved. “That’s great!” She turned to Catra, “we should give her some practical demonstrations!” Catra cocked an eyebrow at Adora before giving Glimmer an appraising look.

“Grappler?” She offered with a smirk, “you’re so tiny you’ll be at everybody else’s chest height anyways.” Glimmer face scrunched like she was pretty sure she should be insulted.

“Oh definitely,” Adora nodded, “she’s got a really strong grip, too.”

“Uh, how’s me being short help?”

“Easy,” Catra drawled, “means you can do this without bending over.” Adora felt Catra’s arms wrap tight around her waist just a second too late to do anything about it.

“Hey wai-” her world turned end over end as Catra yanked, pulling her up off the ground and then driving her back down. She swung her legs forwards to try and keep the momentum moving and rolled to her feet once Catra released her. “No fair, sneak attack.” Catra shrugged and picked at her claws.

Adora couldn’t help the smile tugging at her face as she stood back up. She set her stance and pushed towards her, looking to get a grip on Catra before she could react. Like usual Catra was faster than her though, pivoting out of the way and putting a little distance between the two of them with a carefree smirk.

The two of them circled each other for a moment, Adora lowering herself into proper wrestler’s form while Catra just bent her knees slightly. Catra surprised her by being the one to approach, darting forward low. Adora stood her ground and watched. Catra feinted to the left, Adora almost felt her stance shift to follow but she grit her teeth and pushed forward instead. Catra fought by leveraging speed and unpredictability, so sometimes the best move was to call her bluff.

This was one of those times. Adora met Catra’s charge head on, the two of them locking together at the shoulders with a jarring impact that set Adora’s teeth rattling together. Adora locked her arms around Catra’s torso as Catra did the same to her, each of them trying to get the better leverage. Catra was strong, slightly taller, and in this position her enormous poof of hair blocked Adora’s view. Her disadvantage was that she was thin and wiry, giving Adora’s bulkier frame the edge in a head on shoving contest.

Even though she dug in her claws, Adora was still able to shove Catra back a couple steps, forcing her to stand straighter and giving Adora the opening she needed to reposition herself. She released her grip a moment to slip an arm over Catra’s shoulder and grab on again, shifting her weight to the side. Catra’s balance lost the fight against Adora’s shove and she spun over as she went down. Adora tried to push away so she wouldn’t end up on the ground with her but Catra shifted her own grip on Adora’s chest to yank her down on top of her. Catra landed on her back with a thud and Adora landed on her forearms so their heads wouldn’t collide as she went down after her.

There was a fierceness to Catra’s gaze beneath her that made Adora’s heart flutter and a breathless sort of giggle come out of her before she could stop it. It was different seeing it now than it would have been before for a reason she couldn’t quite place. Then Catra’s eyes softened a little and it clicked, there was no one to breathe down their necks about it now. It was allowed to be fun, not just a contest.

A grin spread across Catra’s face again and Adora felt blood rushing in her ears.

“Hey, Adora,” she chuckled before suddenly her hands were around Adora’s upper arms and Catra swung over on top of her, landing heavily on Adora’s back and shoving her down against the ground. She should have seen that coming, always go in for the next move against Catra, if she got you on the backfoot it was over.

Adora moved to shove herself up but Catra’s grip on her arms tightened and she pulled back, keeping them pinned up behind her. Adora grunted at the strain it put on her shoulders and tried to gather herself to rally. “That’s one,” Catra said and Adora could hear the smirk in her voice, “two-”

She shoved forwards with her arms, straining against Catra’s hold hard enough that she was sure it would have made Catra’s hands leave bruises if she hadn’t loosened her grip just slightly. Getting her hands underneath her she pushed herself up off the ground with Catra perched on her back.

“Wow,” she heard Glimmer say from somewhere off to her left. She felt Catra begin to shift her hands and shoved sideways, tipping them over and forcing Catra to lose her grip before she could get an arm around her neck.

Adora landed on her side and rolled to make sure she was facing Catra. She would have gotten up to keep going, but when Catra came into view, she didn’t seem in a hurry to get up herself. She was just sort of lounging there, propped up on an elbow and watching Adora with a smirk.

“Not everybody can do _that_ ,” she gestured towards her before looking over Adora’s shoulder, “but the rest of it’s pretty easy.” Oh yeah, they’d been demonstrating for Glimmer. Adora was sure she was bright red as she stood back up, rolling her shoulders to shake off the strain.

“Yeah, sorry, got carried away.”

“Show off,” Catra playfully razzed her as she rose.

“Shut up,” Adora gave her a halfhearted shove. “Grappling’s all about exploiting your opponent’s center of gravity, minimal effort, maximum result. Like Catra said, since you’re shorter it’ll be easier for you to get at it, and your teleporting will make it so your opponent can’t get at you.” She waved Glimmer over, “come here, it’s easier to get the idea of it hands-on.”

* * *

Catra wasn’t actually a morning person. She’d woken up at the crack of dawn for basically her entire life, and she’d hated it every single day. The fact that she’d gotten to sleep until nearly noon yesterday had gotten her hopes up that the torture was finally over, Adora waking her before the morning moon was up today had pulled the curtain back on that fantasy and she had absolutely no problems with making sure everyone knew it had left her in a foul mood.

“This place sucks,” Catra groaned louder than she really had to. “How does it manage to feel so exposed while being _more_ overgrown than the Whispering Woods?” Glimmer huffed in agreement and Morning Catra’s opinion of her went up a few notches.  
“Maybe because all the plants are dying,” Bow offered, kneeling down to brush a hand against a wilted looking flower that crumbled as soon as he touched it. “You were right, there’s no way this is coming from just a blockade.”

“Messing with a Princess’ powers can do this to their land?”

“Maybe,” Glimmer said, kneeling down next to Bow, “but the Heart Blossom’s a tree, right? Maybe whatever’s doing this is what they’re using to tamper with it?”

“Makes sense,” Catra shrugged and looked back up. “Hurry it up, Adora.”

When Adora stepped out of the woods as She-Ra, Catra made a valiant effort not to stare and was thoroughly unsuccessful. In her defense it was difficult, considering Adora was holding what had to be at least a ton of cart over her head like it was nothing. Catra blamed the fact that she was still tired for the not unpleasant squirmy feeling in her gut that came from watching this, and therefore could not be held accountable if anything showed on her face.

“Are you going to be She-Ra the entire time we’re here?” Glimmer complained, something Catra was definitely not doing.

“I told Queen Angella I would,” Adora replied smugly, which broke Catra out of the trance. Adora didn’t do smug unless she was deflecting or teasing, and that didn’t sound quite right for the latter. “Besides, people like me better as She-Ra,” Catra sighed to herself, this was a spiral she’d seen a few times. “Could Adora do this?” While definitely impressive, Catra wasn’t distracted by Adora pumping the cart with one arm. For longer than it took for Glimmer to get another word in edgewise, anyways.

“Yep.” Glimmer rolled her eyes, “very useful to our mission.”

“Put that down,” Catra snapped at Adora, “we need them to take us seriously.”

“This’ll help?” Adora hazarded with a sheepish grin, Catra narrowed her eyes at her.

“Hey guys,” Bow’s voice cut through the staring match, drawing all eyes to him. “I think I found whatever’s killing everything.” He was pointing to a plume of smoke floating up over the lower treeline and getting lost among the enormous, pink canopy that draped over the whole forest, finally visible now that they’d entered a clearing. Adora winced and Catra hissed through her teeth, suddenly very awake.

“Yeah, that’d be it,” Adora nodded.

“How far off do you think?” Catra glanced back towards Adora. Adora, still holding the cart up with one hand, licked a finger of her other hand and held it up to gauge the wind.

“I’d say…” she hummed to herself, “two miles. That is a _lot_ of smoke.”

“Nerd,” Catra needled, earning herself a playful shove.

“You’re here!” A new voice pulled Catra’s attention away. Flanked by several people stood a rather tall, blond woman in a flowing pink dress, smiling in a way that seemed caught somewhere between absent and forced, like she wasn’t quite sure what to do with her face if it wasn’t smiling. It was actually a little unsettling to look at. Catra crossed her arms and stood closer to Adora.

“Princess Perfuma,” Glimmer started, offering her hand, and Catra had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Of course this was her. “I’m Commander Glimmer.” Perfuma waved her hand and suddenly Glimmer was holding a bouquet of slightly droopy, dull looking flowers. Catra made a mental note, Perfuma still had enough of her powers for that, but it didn’t look like they’d last. That’d be why she needed food. She wondered if she still had any offensive capabilities left.

Another wave of Perfuma’s hand and Bow had a ring of flowers draped over his head as well. Catra was half expecting her to ignore her and Adora, but then she looked up and the uncertain edges of her smile disappeared as she lit up like a spotlight. Catra cocked an eyebrow and followed Perfuma’s gaze to Adora, who flashed what was probably supposed to be a dashing smile. Catra chuckled to herself, she was really pulling out all the stops this time.

Perfuma bounced a little on her feet, “oh, my. Come quick everyone, it’s…” she continued to stammer as she approached, completely dazzled by Adora. As Adora began to gather a small crowd Catra answered her increasingly uncomfortable expression with a slow smirk and slipped away to stand next to Bow and Glimmer.

“Traitor!” Adora hissed under her breath, Catra shrugged, still grinning at her.

“The universe has heard our pleas and sent the legendary She-Ra to help us save our home.” That one brought Catra’s attention back to Perfuma with a slight wince. She glanced to Glimmer and Bow to see if they thought that sounded as crazy as Catra did. As far as she could tell, Glimmer was a little thrown but was primarily trying to roll with it. Bow had a look in his eye that Catra instantly decided she didn’t like.

“Hey,” Catra elbowed Glimmer, “do something.”

“What?” Glimmer blinked at her.

“You’re in charge, get a handle on the situation.”

“It seems like she’s got it handled,” Glimmer said, though she stood up a little straighter. “She’s impressed them, that’s what she wanted to do.” Catra rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, but one, did you hear what Perfuma just said? They’re off their rockers. Two,” she gestured to Adora, who was standing with her chest puffed out and her eyes darting wildly around the crowd. “That’s her ‘please help’ face; and three, this mission is important, Angella will be impressed if you take charge. Don’t let Perfuma walk all over you.” Glimmer’s expression hardened a little and with a flash she vanished and reappeared between Adora and the crowd.

“Adora,” she started as Adora deflated in relief, “you can put down the cart now.”

“Oh, yes Commander,” Adora nodded, placing the cart down.

“Thank you,” Glimmer nodded back and turned to face Perfuma. “We’ve come to help with the supply shortage, we brought food and materials.” Perfuma was blinking a bit owlishly, like she’d just woken up from some kind of trance. After a moment of awkward silence she cleared her throat.

“Yes, thank you very much.” That odd half-vacant smile came back as the others moved to start unloading the cart. “Welcome to Plumeria, Commander Glimmer and She-Ra.” Glimmer cleared her throat.

“These are Bow and Catra,” Glimmer gestured to them. “They’re here to help with the other part of our mission here.”

“Other part?” Perfuma blinked before lighting up again. “Oh! Dealing with the Horde!” Glimmer’s expression took on a sharp edge for a moment but she took a quiet breath before she responded.

“Something like that. We should go somewhere less exposed to talk about that.”

“Well,” Perfuma turned to begin walking further into the clearing where a group of what seemed to be tents were set up. “I don’t know if we have anything like that, but I can show you somewhere to sit down.” 

Catra glanced around again, noting that there were what seemed to be woven treehouses in the surrounding branches, and cloth lean-to’s draped between them besides higher up. Angella hadn’t been kidding about the Plumerians being defenseless, a colony of ants could have taken this position, nevermind the Horde.

“Is your whole kingdom like this?” Catra asked before she could stop herself, the nearly scoffing tilt to it drawing an admonishing glance from both Adora and Glimmer, but Perfuma seemed to hardly notice.

“Just about,” she chirped, “our people have lived here in tranquility for thousands of years.” She swept to the side to wave a hand over what looked like a dying bush, “we’re known for our beautiful flowers,” the bush sprang back to life, vibrant and flowering. Seemed Perfuma’s diminished powers worked better on pre-existing plant life than the sort she could conjure up. “Our majestic trees,” the bush shrivelled almost as quickly as she’d brought it back to life when Perfuma kept moving past it and Catra put that down as a very brief tactic.

Catra had gotten so used to being in its shadow through the morning that she didn’t realize until she looked up that Perfuma had brought them right to the tree that shaded the clearing. “And this, the Heart Blossom; the center of our kingdom and source of all my magical powers.”

It was beyond enormous, sprawling and gnarled in a way that told of countless years of sagging and resurging under the weight of branches that seemed- from here at the center- to reach all the way to each horizon, letting the moonlight through in dappled patches between its far-flung leaves. The bark was split in almost circular chunks sporadically along the trunk to reveal a deep pink gem running through the length of it, each exposed piece easily as tall as She-Ra.

Angella hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the version on the map was to scale, but even having travelled underneath it, it hadn’t quite seemed real until right then. This tree could have had a country in its own right hidden among its branches, and Catra thought she could actually see a few bright purple pieces of cloth fluttering high, high up between the leaves.

Even without the runestone inside of it, Catra could see why Shadow Weaver would want it intact for aesthetic value alone. Her claws felt itchy just looking at it and she had to shake off a daydream about how it would feel to climb all the way to the top. She felt a tickle in her throat starting to build and dug the claw of her thumb against a finger to drive it away with a quick flash of pain.

“Well,” she cleared her throat, “at least the tree looks alright, better than everything else.” As she looked back down Perfuma seemed to deflate a little, the smile finally falling.

“We’re going through a little rough patch,” she said with the air of a confession, toying with a lock of her hair, “but I’m sure the universe will right itself soon.” The smile came back but it was more fragile than before, her brow pinched and her hands clenching with worry.

“Everything is dead or dying,” Glimmer pushed.

“Look, the blight hit right after the Horde arrived.” Perfuma put a hand on one of the exposed patches of crystal. “We don’t know why, and nothing I do stops it.” Catra found herself sharing a look with Glimmer. Perfuma was weird, it was like she’d already given up without actually doing that, like any push in the wrong direction might shatter her altogether.

Catra found herself pulling a face and as she opened her mouth to speak Perfuma suddenly rallied. “But we don’t dwell on the negative,” she chirped. “Look at the positive. The Heart Blossom’s still healthy, and the She-Ra is here, and the celebration’s about to begin!”

“Celebration?” Was all Adora was able to get out before Perfuma was reaching for her. Catra reacted before she could even think about it, something that felt like the jealous roil- softer, somehow. Possessive?- snapping at Perfuma’s movement. She snatched Perfuma by the wrist and narrowed her eyes.

“How about we skip the party and get to the point?”

“Catra!” Adora hissed, Perfuma shrunk back and Catra released her with a huff. “I’m sorry about that, we’re just all a little on edge.”

“What celebration?” Bow asked a little too enthusiastically, a touch too obvious in his attempt to defuse the tension.

“For you, of course!” Perfuma rallied again, throwing her arms wide. “The She-Ra will heal our land and fix everything!” Even without looking at her Catra could practically feel the weight landing on Adora’s shoulders. Her eyes narrowed and suddenly she couldn’t wait for Shadow Weaver’s reinforcements to get here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know the Heart Blossom isn't actually that big in canon, but shush, I'm a slut for ridiculously enormous trees. I blame the Swamp episodes of AtLA.


	8. Are Those Horns?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora struggles.  
> Catra Seethes.  
> Perfuma gives up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of intermission chapter, this one kicked my ass up and down the street trying to write Adora's perspective.

Adora wasn't giving the sinking feeling in her gut so much as the time of day. These people were counting on her and that was that. As soon as she figured out what they meant, exactly, by ‘heal the land.’

“I can do that?” Escaped her mouth before her brain could catch up, “I mean, yeah, I can do that. How do _you_ know I can do that?” She heard Catra groan and had to stop herself from flinching.

Luckily Perfuma didn’t seem at all bothered by it, instead spinning away to summon wood carvings down from the Heart Blossom’s branches.

“You’re the She-Ra, the one who tamed the monsters of Beast Island with a single word!” She clapped her hands together, beaming up at Adora, “You cured the Plague of T’miskera! If anyone can heal the forest it’s you.”

She knew she probably couldn’t do all that. She knew the actual best course of action would be to tell them about Shadow Weaver’s attempt to steal the Heart Blossom and direct them in stopping her; but Perfuma’s confidence in her was so absolute, and it was stirring a mixture of old and new feelings of responsibility.

Part of her she’d been trying to ignore for the last three days was already standing at attention, worried what Perfuma might do if that confidence was questioned. The part of herself she’d been leaning into refused to let her disappoint someone who was counting on her but knew that even if she could do this it wouldn’t mean anything if the Horde wasn’t dealt with, and Adora found herself almost frozen in the middle.

Catra and Bow stepped forward at almost the same moment, Bow’s expression filled with enthusiasm and Catra’s almost seething. She had to do something, anything, before they started talking and Catra stepped on someone’s toes. The two parts of her seemed to settle their differences very suddenly, letting her move with a strangely familiar mixture of fear and duty.

She reached out and grabbed Bow and Catra both, yanking them back by her sides and throwing Glimmer a look she hoped wasn’t too desperate.

“Yes, I can totally do that! I just need to go get warmed up. Over there. Alone.” The smile on her face felt paper thin but in her mounting panic it was the best she could manage. “I know what I’m doing!” She shouted over her shoulder as she dragged Bow and Catra along with her. Glimmer gave Perfuma an awkward sort of bow before following.

Catra was glaring daggers at her when Adora got to a spot out of sight and released her. Bow just looked mildly confused.

“You have _no idea_ what you’re doing,” Catra snapped, crossing her arms. “Even if you did it wouldn’t matter.” Adora let out a scream that had been building the last few minutes between her teeth before she responded.

“I know that! But I’ve got to try, don’t I?” She brandished the sword, looking into the gem set in the crossguard. “They’re counting on me, just give me a few minutes to see if I can get it to work. Okay?” Catra rolled her eyes and Bow winced at her as she began waving the sword around in any way she could that seemed vaguely wand-like.

“I’m suddenly glad I didn’t get to say anything,” Bow murmured, Catra shot him a look. “I was gonna hype her up, but now I think that would probably have made things worse.”

“Ya think?” Catra snarled back. Adora tuned them out and concentrated on the sword.

Closing her eyes she reached for the power. There was something equal parts familiar and foreign about it. A comfortable heat coiled through her body, but a cold edge settled on the outside, and every time she called on it that cold would stir. Like something had noticed her and was watching.

She concentrated on the idea of healing, restoration, and felt the power respond. It was quick, and it felt enormous. A wave of strength pushing its way through her and making her insides rattle with the intensity of it, the cold edge biting, stinging and _pushing_ at every inch of her body. Too much, there was too much, she couldn’t control this, couldn’t even begin to imagine how she would. She threw out a hand, needing to get it _out_ as quickly as possible.

Relief was immediate, but it still left a tremble in her arm. That had been beyond anything she’d called on so far. Not even the punch she’d slammed Shadow Weaver with had felt like that, and she’d blacked out halfway through that one.

“Did I do it?” She asked, opening her eyes just slightly enough to look.

“No,” Bow said, “you punched a tree.”

“With rainbows,” Catra chuckled.

“That’s kind of the opposite of healing,” Bow finished.

It looked like something had taken a bite out of the tree, but Adora didn’t see any of the debris that she would have expected to come from that kind of wound. She supposed that just spoke to how powerful the blast had been.

“Let me try again.” She closed her eyes and reached for the power. She could feel the air around her react, tugging at her hair and cape.

“Adora-” Catra started, sounding more worried this time.

“I can do this.” Adora said firmly, gritting her teeth against the cold edge of the power and keeping both hands on the sword this time. She held on longer this time, but the sword began to burn in her hands and she let the power out through it.

It let out an electric shriek as it was released. She heard shouts and scrambling from the others before a dull boom sounded. As Adora opened her eyes this time she saw Catra and Bow had jumped to the sides and Glimmer reappearing in a cloud of sparks.

“Magic blast. Also not healing.” Catra wasn’t the only one who was starting to look worried and Adora could feel panic settling in again so she put on the best smile she could.

“I’ll get it this time.” She gripped the sword tighter to try and ignore how it still felt overheated in her hands and pulled the power up again.

“Adora!” Catra shouted, putting a hand on her arm. “We don’t have time for this.”

“But I can do it!” Adora kept a hold on the energy, not wanting Catra caught in the blast if it went wrong.

“I know. Anything any other She-Ra can do, you can too, but you’re not gonna get it by forcing yourself. How many times have you gotten hurt like that?”

Adora winced as much at the reminder as at the power still ricocheting through her body.

“Too many,” she admitted, lowering the sword. The power almost seemed to protest for a moment, her skin flaring with light and a chill running down her spine before it dissipated. “I need to train up to it.”

“You’ll be able to do that once we’re done here,” Catra assured her, “but right now that’ll take time we don’t have.”

“It’ll take time _they_ don’t have, you mean,” Adora muttered, feeling a different kind of tension coil through her again.

“You’ll get it soon,” Bow added, he and Glimmer approaching now that Adora had stopped glowing.

“Soon isn’t good enough!” Adora couldn’t help shouting, lashing out at the tree in front of her with a kick that split its trunk and only served to make her feel worse. “These people expect me to save their land. I thought I was better as She-Ra, but I’m useless no matter what form I take.” Catra growled, reaching up and grabbing a fistful of her hair, yanking her head down to look her right in the eyes.

“Who got us out of the Fright Zone?” Catra demanded, Adora’s mind went blank for a second.

“You?” She managed to ask dumbly. Catra rolled her eyes at her.

“No, it was you, dummy.” Catra released the lock of her hair, “I made the plan, sure, and She-Ra punched Shadow Weaver, but without Adora? I never would have even tried. You are not, and have never been, useless.” That fierceness was back in Catra’s eyes, tempered at the edges into something softer, dazzling in a way Adora had no words for.

“Catra-” Adora started, but before she could say anything else a roaring boom sounded in the distance, making them all jump.

Adora looked up, the smoke rising in the distance had turned even darker. The flower crown Bow had been wearing broke apart into rapidly disintegrating petals.

“My hat!”

“She-Ra!” Perfuma’s voice brought everyone’s attention away from the smoke. “Come quickly, something terrible has happened!” She looked panicky, the drifting quality to her movements gone in favour of quick, sharp motions. Glancing down, Adora noticed that Catra had put herself quite firmly between Perfuma and Adora. She had to contain a sigh, if Catra had decided she didn’t like her there wasn’t a whole lot anyone could do to change her mind.

“Gonna need more than that,” Catra drawled, her expression hardening and her arms crossed.

“It’s the Heart Blossom,” Perfuma’s eyes darted about and she clasped her hands again, “it’s gone dark!” Her panicked shout was accompanied by a sudden downpour of pink leaves. Adora glanced up, the Heart Blossom was shedding its leaves so quickly that it was like some invisible force was yanking them off.

Adora squared her shoulders as they followed Perfuma; she had to fix this, she was the only one who could fix this.

The Heart Blossom had done more than go dark. There were sickly black and green creepers stretching out from around the exposed crystal, almost seeming to strangle the enormous tree. Perfuma placed a hand on the crystal and closed her eyes a moment.

She pulled a face as she drew her hand away, “the Heart Blossom is dying. Please, She-Ra, heal our land.” Adora only managed to take a step before Catra was up in Perfuma’s face.

“How about you heal your own stupid land?” She snarled.

“Catra-” Adora hissed between her teeth.

“That smoke over there?” Catra ignored her, gesturing towards the smoke. “That’s the Horde trying to steal your Runestone. That’s what’s killing everything. You take that out and everything goes right back to how it was. Pathetic as that was,” she huffed.

“Fight the Horde?” Perfuma stammered, glancing to Glimmer and Adora. Glimmer shrugged a little sheepishly.

“She’s not wrong,” Adora had to force herself to speak. “That’s part of why we’re here, to advise you in fighting back.” Perfuma looked around at her people for a moment then back to Adora.

“I make plants, and I don’t think I can even do that with the Heart Blossom dying. We’re not warriors, we just want to live in our ancestral home in peace.”

“Yeah,” Catra snapped, “well sometimes we don’t get what we want.”

“We’re not strong enough to fight the Horde.”

“Being smarter than them will work just as well.” Catra crossed her arms, “Adora, if they’re following protocol, where will the perimeter guards be right now?”

“Adora?” Perfuma cocked her head, an eyebrow raised.

“That’s me,” Adora cleared her throat and looked up to get a measure for the moons. It was a little past 17:00, which would put the guards, “two point three miles north-northwest, three miles west-northwest, and two miles west of this position. If they’re guarding for priority, though, there should also be guards at one mile northwest, three miles northwest, and two point five miles west-northwest.”

“Not likely they’d waste the resources on this lot,” Catra scoffed. Adora put on her best admonishing face as she glanced back down to scold Catra for putting down potential allies but ended up caught in Perfuma’s dawning realization, quickly changing to _disappointment._

Ice shot down Adora’s spine and a thousand little moments started clamoring for her attention, ways she could have, should have, done better. She wanted to grab Catra and run all of the sudden, but training had her rooted to the spot, stiff and trapped. It knocked She-Ra’s power right out of her hands and left her transforming back with a weak flash of light.

“You’re not She-Ra?” Perfuma breathed. Adora heard someone else say something but her focus had tunneled down onto Perfuma, waiting for the anger, for someone to lash out. It didn’t come and after a moment that was probably too long Adora was able to take her voice back.

“I am She-Ra, the sword chose me, I’m just,” she glanced away, “not the same She-Ra from your stories.”

“Then…” Perfuma glanced to the Heart Blossom, steadily being strangled by the twisted black and green vines. Adora shook her head.

“I’m still new to this, I haven’t figured out how to do everything… I can’t heal your Runestone.”

“You can’t save us?” Another booming rumble in the distance. This time the ground shook beneath Adora’s feet. The creepers spreading across the Heart Blossom picked up speed, racing their way up into the canopy. Shouts and horrified gasps sounded from the crowd. They were huddled together, shooting frightened looks between the smoke and the tree. And Adora had failed them all.

Catra stepped up to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. Adora placed her own hand over Catra’s, using her as an anchor while she pulled herself out of the current of familiar helplessness. Not yet, she hadn’t failed yet.

“There’s still a way to stop this!” She raised her voice to catch everyone’s attention. “If we take out the machine causing this, we save your home!”

“You’re not the She-Ra from the stories!” Someone shouted up from the crowd. “ _You_ were supposed to save us!” Catra snarled at him and he shrank back.

“It’ll be alright. I promise,” Perfuma interjected, stepping forward and taking a deep breath. “We’ll rebuild. We have to believe the universe will repay the Horde for their evil deeds eventually.” It wasn’t working, Plumeria wasn’t going to fight the Horde.

“The universe won’t save you!” Glimmer stepped up on Adora’s other side, standing between Adora and the crowd. “You want She-Ra to fix everything, but won’t even try to save yourselves? At least Adora’s trying.”

“Besides,” Catra added with a biting, sardonic chuckle, “aren’t you guys, like, part of the universe and everything?” Perfuma’s expression darkened as she turned away.

“If She-Ra can’t save us, no one can. Right now, we just need to make sure our people are safe. We leave today.” Adora felt her knees start to buckle as Perfuma led her people away, but Catra’s grip on her shoulder tightened, refusing to let her fall.

“Are you okay?” Glimmer asked, still standing slightly between Adora and the Plumerians.

“I just-” Adora felt her brow furrow, Catra’s grip loosened on her shoulder and she found herself steady enough to stand on her own. “I wanted to help. This was my chance to prove myself to the Rebellion as She-Ra. But all I’ve done is disappoint an entire kingdom.”

“Forget them,” Catra scoffed, “they’re not worth it. And we got the supplies here without anyone getting killed. That was our actual mission, remember? Anything else was bonus points.”

Adora took a deep breath. That was true, but…

“The whole Rebellion is counting on me, too. My first mission and I’m already a failure.”

“Adora,” Glimmer took one of her hands, “She-Ra’s not the reason we like you. We like you because you’re our friend.” Adora felt the ember Catra had put there blooming into a resolute warmth, beginning to drive out all the self-incriminating thoughts swirling in her head.

Another rumble from the Horde base in the distance. If they were going to keep Shadow Weaver from getting another Runestone they needed to act. Now.

She glanced between Catra, Glimmer, and Bow. They had a small team, but between Catra and Glimmer they had excellent maneuverability, Bow provided a surprising amount of utility, and Adora could provide all the stopping power they needed in a pinch.

A small team would be able to skirt around the perimeter guards with only a short detour to the southwest and would likely be able to slip past the outer wall defenses with ease. Or- she thought of the escape from the Fright Zone- they might not have to skirt around them at all.

“I don’t like that look,” Catra took her hand away, “you’ve got an idea, a dumb one.”

“We can’t let Shadow Weaver have the Heart Blossom.”

“Can’t we? Just to teach Flower Power a lesson?”

“No, we can’t,” Adora chuckled, giving Catra a firm pat on the back. “I appreciate the thought, though.”

“You’ve got a plan?” Glimmer asked.

“Yeah, I think I do,” Adora nodded. Catra heaved an over dramatic sigh.

“Guess that means I’ll have to fix it, you know the Queen said no direct engagement, right?”

“Your gracious contribution is acknowledged,” Adora smarmed back. “And since when do you listen?” This was going to work, with this team at her back, they could do just about anything.

  


* * *

  


This was a bad plan. Catra dug her claws into the bark of the tree she’d set up in to keep watch. There was a chance it would go the way she wanted it to, but it was slim at best, and at worst it would end in Adora getting caught in a trap meant for Perfuma and her band of hippies.

Adora’s plan was solid enough in theory, she supposed. She hadn’t been able to pick out any glaring flaws with it. Adora had the latest set of codes thanks to Force Captain Orientation, the outer patrol was easy enough to subdue, and most people working guard detail for the Horde weren’t paid enough to actually care too much if they saw new people around as long as they were in uniform.

There was really just the issue of the reinforcements that Catra had no way of bringing up without breaking her cover. If Perfuma had any kind of real backbone that wouldn’t be a problem, but she didn’t, so Perfuma was just a rat who didn’t even have the nerve to try and grab the bait.

Catra growled to herself. She wasn’t sure if Adora saw it, but Perfuma had pulled the same underhanded trick that Shadow Weaver used to get excuses to ‘discipline’ people. Drop an impossible task on someone unprepared, then punish them when they couldn’t pull through. If there was anyone who deserved to stumble into what was coming for them, it was her.

Though, she thought as she scanned over the base sprawled out around the machine, this place didn’t seem like it had been reenforced. It was practically skeleton crewed right now. The outer patrol had been light, too. Only three of them when for an operation this important there should have been six to a patrol at least. 

She got that Plumeria wasn’t a real threat, but she’d given Shadow Weaver a full day to get her act together. At best, they were just slow in arriving, at worst she’d been ignored. Neither option was really appealing to her right now.

At least she’d been able to convince Adora to let her run lookout, a task she’d originally been planning to give to Bow. No offense to the bare-stomached wonder, but she didn’t really trust him to know what he was looking at when it came to the comings and goings of a Horde base. If she needed to know where the nearest wild animal was, she’d give him a shout, but he didn’t seem to grasp the idea of regular movement when it came to troops.

The wall guards passed each other and Catra gave the signal. There was a faint flash of light as Glimmer teleported Adora and Bow inside the wall. Adora looked back and gave Catra a nod, Catra nodded back and moved to check the perimeter.

Catra had taken to the woods even better than she thought she would, barely rustling a leaf as she jumped between trees. Her claws made it easy to keep her grip and the twisting branches meant she could find her handholds without looking half the time.

As she circled the compound the same story spelled itself out for her. This really was a skeleton crew, enough people to man all the absolutely necessary positions an operation like this needed, and not a single one more. They’d have a hard time even raising an alarm properly with a squad this understaffed. Was this just the level of disrespect Shadow Weaver had for Plumeria or was she cutting corners for speed?

Catra wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.

She decided for the moment it hardly mattered, settling into her final high vantage point. Keeping eyes on Adora was easy. Even with the fact she was wearing the same armour as everyone else in the base, Catra would be able to spot that stiff posture anywhere; though there was one other person in the base she could see who was giving Adora a run for her money in the “broomstick for a spine” department. Catra pulled off her head guard and held it up to catch the light as Adora and the others swapped places with the door guards.

She flashed it three times at them, the other stiff-back in the area- Catra decided to call them Stonespine- was about to turn a corner into them. Adora had the other two standing at proper attention in a blink. Catra waited until the soldier turned another corner to flash her guard at them two more times for the all-clear.

Then they did something stupid. All three of them went inside. Leaving a door that was supposed to be guarded unguarded, and themselves without eyes on their lookout. Catra hissed between her teeth. Great, now she’d have to get over there without being noticed to cover for them. She glanced around to see when the next time someone was likely to pass the door was. It looked like she had maybe a minute tops, that wasn’t anywhere near long enough to steal someone’s uniform. No problem, Adora knew the latest codes, she could pose as a visiting Force Captai- Stonespine was coming back.

Why were they coming back? She glanced to where she could still see the two former door guards. Oh, there were only supposed to be two people guarding that door, there had been three when they passed.

Catra growled to herself. Of course. The only way a base this understaffed ran properly with no Force Captain in sight was if someone there was a stickler for protocol to the point they were just as likely to mysteriously disappear as they were to come back from a mission, and there was no way someone like that wouldn’t have had their ear out for any potential visits from the higher-ups.

Catra glanced at the path between the door and her current position, there was a sort of opening, but there was too much open space, it would be a miracle if she wasn’t seen. This was about to go pear-shaped, and the reinforcements weren’t even here yet. Catra slumped a little, at least she knew what to do for it. 

She didn’t know why she’d expected anything different, this whole Rebellion thing had been one catastrophic failure after another, but she’d sooner pull out her own claws than come back without Adora.

And Glimmer, she supposed, just to keep the brass off her back. Bow was on his own, though. 

Catra slipped back into jumping between trees with an ease that felt almost practiced- or instinctual, perhaps- until she reached the spot they’d stashed Adora’s sword and Bow’s, well, bow. She grimaced at the bow as she picked up the sword and strapped it to her back. Fine, as long as she was here, she may as well pick up his garbage, too.

Altogether it was a bit heavier than she would have liked, but no heavier than the survival training packs, so she was able to adjust to it by the time she returned to the vantage point. She took a moment and let her ears swivel to track the noises of the outpost.

Not even a hint of an alarm, had Stonespine bought it?

There they were, standing in the open doorway of the central building, they were too stiff for Catra to see any marked change that would let her know if they were about to pull the alarm. After a moment longer Adora stepped outside with them and Stonespine was suddenly animated, gesturing around and seeming very proud of themself.

Catra huffed to herself, having to stifle a laugh at the sudden shift in possibilities. Adora may have just put herself into the perfect storm of low maintenance lies. The paradox of most people that stuck to protocol like a holy text was that they wouldn’t for a second even begin to question any strange behavior shown by someone who outranked them. Adora herself being exhibit A of that fact.

Now the question was how long until something came to rescue her from having to clumsily play along instead of how long it would be until they all needed rescuing from a firefight. Who was going to shut down or destroy that machine or magic circle or whatever garbage Shadow Weaver was using to poison the Heart Blossom went on the backburner. One of the other two would probably manage to break something while they were in there. Catra sat back in the tree and settled in to watch Adora suffer for the cause.

She kept an ear and an eye out for Shadow Weaver’s reinforcements, though. No doubt they would be coming with a real Force Captain, one who would probably recognize Adora the second they laid eyes on her.

After about five minutes she pulled off her head guard and flashed it at Adora four times, checking in. Adora tilted her visor twice back at her, all’s well. Catra decided to run another perimeter check, flashing her head guard at Adora once to give her the heads up.

Jumping between the trees again she didn’t see anything really worth her attention, so her thoughts began to drift. How could the Rebellion beat a base like this? Even understaffed there couldn’t have been less than fifty soldiers here. That was almost a tenth of all the forces at the Rebellion’s disposal combined.

She supposed if the rebels could bluff them out they might stand a chance. Make them think there were more of them than there were, then send in a couple heavy hitters to wreak havoc from different angles. Scare them, scatter them, let the troops pick them off. It could work once or twice before someone high enough up the chain to start countering it caught wise

The tree she was in shifted suddenly as something huge brushed against the base of it. Looking down, Catra caught a glimpse of green vines slithering further into the forest. She blinked, taking off her head guard again. She flashed it right into Adora’s visor until she got her attention, then flashed three times, possible threat, hold position.

Catra’s mind raced as she followed the shuffling greenery. Had Shadow Weaver already managed to take control of the Heart Blossom proper to use in place of the reinforcements? Was Perfuma trying to stock up on supplies before she left? Was her range this big? As far as she knew, neither Shadow Weaver nor Perfuma were this close to the base, the idea of that kind of range on anyone was honestly kind of terrifying.

What she found was… puzzling.

“What are you doing, Perfuma?” She growled, watching the vines twist and coil beneath the Princess, gradually lifting her higher and higher. “Uselessville's is the other way.” Perfuma jumped with a quiet yelp, a few of the vines browning at the edges as she did so.

“I’m-” she grunted threw her arms out wide and sweat broke out on her brow as the browned spots turned green again- “coming to help. I just need a minute to harmonize.” Catra felt a snarl tugging at her lips before she looked around at the people and equipment Perfuma had brought with her, spotting one object in particular that caught her interest.

“Are those horns?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this chapter to go longer, but my heart was absolutely set on "are those horns?" as a good line to end on. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as it's finished so I'm not leaving you guys hanging on it for so long this time. And so I can leave Flowers For She-Ra behind and never look back.


	9. Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora pushes too far.  
> Catra makes herself a promise.  
> A new bed means new sleeping arrangements.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for Catra's section and the next few chapters is Summer Nights by SIAMES.

“Over there you can see the perimeter cannon, Force Captain. It’s not operational right now, one of the engineers got bored and had an idea for improving it.” This guard- she’d introduced herself as Tammy- seemed to have an endless supply of things to say about the base. “It’s not regulation, I know, but he’s confident that once he’s done it’ll be the new standard. The Plumerians hardly pose enough of a threat for us to worry too much about having it down for a day or two, anyway.” The worst part was that Adora could see herself doing the same thing a week ago. 

The first few minutes she’d spent quietly listening, nodding when Tammy seemed to be looking for approval, but somewhere between the completely standard wall setup and now she’d begun showing off what Adora could only call experiments. Then she’d started taking notes.

She realized something through it, now that she was out of the Horde her knowledge of their tactics and equipment would begin to lag behind. They needed to make their moves against the Horde quickly if they wanted to capitalize on the influx of knowledge the Rebellion would get from her and Catra.

A clock, there was always a ticking clock. Didn’t matter if it was her previous record on a training course, a promise to keep, a dying runestone, or the ever-advancing gears of war, there was never quite enough time to do everything she’d like. She shook herself to get back to paying attention to Tammy.

She’d noticed a couple little things about the way Tammy referred to the others in the base, she’d chew them out in a heartbeat, but her voice would grow terse and angry if Adora ever tried to join in. Tammy’s praise came just as easily as her criticism, though, and she’d hold her chin a little higher whenever Adora took an interest in something. She seemed to think just about everyone in the base was an idiot, but they were her idiots and by Hordak she was proud of them.

It was nice, even if it did make something in her gut twist at the thought that she’d have to fight Tammy and her crew. Maybe they’d be able to recruit them once the Heart Blossom was saved, maybe they just didn’t realize they were on the wrong side. That would be nice.

“Tammy,” Adora started, deciding to try something and drawing her attention away from the different modifications the engineer was making to the cannon, “you seem like prime material for Force Captain, and your team has obviously done good work, why are you out here?” Tammy stiffened.

“Because this is where we’ll serve the Horde best, ma’am,” her voice was strained, but her form didn’t shift, still upright and proper.

“And you believe that?” Tammy shifted oddly, rocking back on her feet a moment before snapping back to attention.

“Yes, this is the best place for us.” Even through the visor Adora could tell she wasn’t meeting her gaze anymore. Adora’s eyes narrowed.

“Why?” She asked, pressing a little harder.

“Because Shadow Weaver decided it, ma’am,” Tammy answered so quickly it was like she’d practiced the response.

“Not because of your skills?” Adora kept pressing. There had to be something she could say, something that made her feel something was wrong with all of this. Even if Tammy hadn’t been in combat yet, there had to be something.

“Are you questioning her judgement?” Tammy countered, ramrod straight.

“Do you not?”

“Nobody who wants to keep all their thoughts on the inside of their head questions Shadow Weaver.” Tammy put a hand on the baton strapped to her hip, “how’d you make Force Captain doing it?”

Adora winced, she’d pushed too hard, Tammy was picking up on treason. She looked between Tammy and the half-disassembled cannon and something clicked.

“How have you not made Force Captain refusing to?” Tammy’s head tilted curiously.

“Is this a test?”

“Kinda,” that came out a bit more like a question than Adora would have liked, but Tammy seemed to relax a little. “Do you not want to make Force Captain?”

“No, ma’am,” Tammy nodded firmly. “I will serve best as a soldier, not an Officer.”

“Why?”

“I…” she glanced at the cannon, “am unfit. The mission would be a secondary concern.” Adora blinked at her for a moment, but Tammy didn’t continue.

“I see,” Adora nodded when she felt the silence had gone on for slightly too long. She didn’t quite understand, but she had the distinct feeling any further questions would only make her defensive.

A piercing tone cut through the air and they both jumped. “The alarms?” Adora sputtered out, her mind going back to Glimmer and Bow with the machine.

“No, that’s not the-” another blast of sound came from the other side of the base, then another from the north, and one from the south. “We’re surrounded!?”

Adora blinked, this hadn’t been part of the plan. She supposed it was time to improvise, then. Tammy wasn’t looking at her anymore, she was shouting at a pair of other soldiers who were just sort of standing around looking dazed. The horns sounded from all four directions at once again.

A metallic whirring caught Adora’s attention. Her sword sailed over the wall and planted itself at her feet. Adora blinked and took a step forward, seems things were moving fast. She planted her stance and gave Tammy a good punch in the back of the head, hoping to take her out quick.

She went down a bit more spectacularly than Adora had intended, Tammy’s helmet shattered, pieces of it digging painfully into Adora’s knuckles as it exploded off her head and she was lifted off her feet, pitching forward into the dirt with a choked off shout and a thunk. Adora’s eyes went wide and she kneeled down before she could stop herself, turning Tammy over. There was blood already matting on the back of her head, but she was still breathing, just unconscious. Adora let out a sigh of relief, getting back to her feet and picking up the sword.

Catra dropped down off the top of the wall next to her, her familiar presence keeping the sudden movement from startling her.

“What’s going on?” Adora asked, pulling off her helmet and glancing towards Catra, who was looking down at the unconscious Tammy with an expression of vague approval.

“Flower Power had a change of heart. She was gonna just charge the south gate, I convinced her it’d be a better idea to freak them out a little first.”

“Spook n’ scatter, good call.” Adora blinked, “wait, what about Perfuma’s powers?”

“She’s spent the last ten minutes ‘harmonizing,’ which I think is her way of charging up.” Catra stepped closer, “she’ll have a couple minutes, but we’re gonna need to pick up the slack.”

“Where are Glimmer and Bow?”

“Still inside with the machine last I checked, surprised nothing’s exploded yet.”

“That’s where we’re headed, then,” Adora nodded, raising the sword high and shouting the words. That cold edge reacted quicker this time, keener somehow. Whatever that was, she had its undivided attention. The warmth flowed in behind it, filling her as she changed. 

The transformation felt like slipping into a suit of armour, snug and dependable but without the added weight. If anything her movements came easier despite the added force and weight of them. The only thing that seemed to take real effort to do was swinging her sword, still solid enough to put her weight behind it. She had the beginning of a suspicion in the back of her mind that it didn’t actually weigh anything at all, it just felt however suited her best.

Adora blinked away the glare of her transformation and got moving, feeling more than seeing Catra fall in step alongside her. She didn’t have to look at her to know that Catra had noticed the higher vantage point brought on by She-Ra was still disorienting, and the added strength and weight made her more lumber across the ground than run, leaving deep marks in clumsy footprints. She heard Catra scoff, but decided she’d deal with that conversation and the warmth gathering in her face once the mission was complete.

The horn blasts had set the base moving with a feverish tension, soldiers headed to their positions on and behind the walls. She-Ra being dumped in the middle of it all snapped the tension into outright panic. Half-finished formations scattered at the sight of her. No one wanted to try their luck against the eight foot, glowing warrior, not while they were surrounded on the outside of the base besides.

Then the south wall exploded inwards. Perfuma entered the scene on a tide of vines, the plants whipping out to tear weapons out of the soldier’s hands or bowl them over before anyone could even begin to respond.

“I always said the universe will repay the Horde someday. Well I guess that day is today!” She shouted as she continued to wreak havoc on the scattered soldiers, a group of Plumerians streaming in after her with improvised weapons to take advantage of the confusion. Not a shot had been fired.

Adora turned to give Catra a smile, but Catra wasn’t looking back at her. She was scanning the treeline, brow furrowed with concern.

“Did you see something else out there?” Adora asked, looking out towards the horizon as well.

“Maybe,” Catra shook her head, “we need to wrap this up quick, even if it’s nothing, we only have so long before they figure out they’re not outnumbered.” Adora nodded to her and picked up her pace a little. Glancing back she caught the bizarre sight of Perfuma whooping out a laugh as one of her vines wrapped around a soldier and launched them screaming out over the walls and into the forest.

Inside the central building Glimmer seemed a little lost looking at the enormous glass containers that made up the injector. It didn’t seem like it was pumping toxins into the ground anymore, but the machine was definitely still intact.

“Adora, Catra,” Glimmer started, “thank the First Ones. We think we’ve turned it off.”

“Anything else?” Adora asked, “where’s Bow?”

“Under here,” Bow puffed as he crawled out from underneath one of the control panels in the corner. “I’ve been trying to find a ‘reverse’ switch, or make one, I don’t think I can.” He stood up, wiping grease from his hands. “We got a look at how much toxin they had here, and it’s almost all gone. I don’t think the Heart Blossom is going to recover from this if we can’t find an antidote.”

Adora felt herself tense. They were so close, and it still wasn’t going to be enough? That cold edge on She-Ra’s power tugged towards the machine and it was all too easy to imagine just tearing it to pieces.

“We need to get Perfuma,” Adora shook herself as she spoke. They could still do this, the Horde couldn’t win here, Shadow Weaver couldn’t win. “This thing’s plugged right into the Runestone, if anybody can do something with it, it’ll be her.”

Stepping outside, the chaos was still in full swing. The Plumerians had started a pile of all the batons and sidearms they’d managed to get off of the Horde soldiers that was already pretty well stocked. The remaining soldiers didn’t seem to know what to do about any of this, disarmed and disorganized as they were, and Perfuma was still gleefully chasing or launching any of them she came across out into the forest.

“Perfuma!” Adora shouted, drawing the rampaging princess’ attention. She swooped over with a bright smile that had gained some sharpness about the edges since Adora had last seen it.

“She-Ra- I mean, Adora!” She hopped on her toes as she came to a stop in front of her, “no one told me this could be so…” She trailed off less like she was looking for the right word and more like she was looking for one that didn’t sound awful, “exhilarating!”

“Yeah,” Catra chuckled beside her, “hitting somebody really hard’ll do that.”

“I’m, uh, glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself,” Adora blinked at her. “We need you inside, though, do you think you’ve managed to disarm enough of them we can leave your people to keep an eye on things?”

“Oh yes, that’s the first thing I told everyone to do,” Perfuma chirped, drifting past Adora towards the building. “So, what do you need me for?”

Perfuma’s bubbly mood wilted the moment they stepped inside. “Oh dear, what have they been doing to you?” She murmured, kneeling down to place a hand on the exposed roots beneath the machine.

“This is where they’ve been injecting the poison into the Heart Blossom,” Adora said, “if there’s anywhere you can pull it out, it’s here.” Perfuma looked up at the machine for a moment before nodding and placing both of her hands on the spot where it pierced the roots.

“I’ll try.” Perfuma closed her eyes, her hands glowing with a faint green. The roots shuddered slightly, “I know,” she muttered to them, “I’m sorry.” Adora suddenly felt like she’d intruded on something she shouldn’t have. Something intimate and private she wasn’t meant to know, so she turned her back to watch out the door.

She wasn’t sure how long they waited for Perfuma to finish. Outside things calmed down considerably, it didn’t seem like there were any Horde soldiers left in the base and the Plumerians had gotten bored enough that they were scavenging around for things they could make into musical instruments.

Adora had drifted to stand sentinel in the doorway, her sword clutched in both hands and the blade pointed down into the dirt. Bow had crawled back underneath the control panel and kept making intrigued noises whenever he found a part he decided he was going to keep. Glimmer had knelt down by Perfuma, occasionally murmuring something with her; and Catra was leaning against the wall next to the door, throwing what Adora could only call increasingly agitated looks between Perfuma and Adora.

“You’ve been twitchy the whole time we’ve been here,” Adora started, keeping her eyes on the half-demolished outer wall. “What is it?” She felt Catra start to puff up next to her and then deflate with a huff.

“It’s too easy,” she grumbled after a moment longer. “They were understaffed, they spooked easy, and they were run off their own base in ten minutes. This feels like a trap.” Adora glanced towards her to find Catra eyes already piercing into her.

She had a point, this had been easy, if a bit tedious. Shadow Weaver didn’t really strike her as the type to leave her projects this sparsely guarded either, no matter where they were. She felt her brow furrow and Catra pressed, “you feel it too.”

“That,” she lowered her voice so Perfuma wouldn’t hear what had been nagging at her the whole time, “or it doesn’t matter. If it’s already too late, and she knows that, then this base has already done what it’s here to do and she’d have no reason to keep guarding it.” Catra let out a low growl.

“So anyone who shows up to take it down can only sit here and watch it happen.” She dug a claw into one of the walls and left a long scratch down the metal as she spat, “that’s just awful enough to sound like her.”

Habit almost made Adora scold her for saying something like that, but she was able to keep a lid on it. Shadow Weaver really was that vindictive, they both knew it, and she couldn’t hear them anymore. The instinct still made a shiver go up her spine and her eyes flick from side to side like she could be just around the corner.

A frustrated shout from Perfuma distracted her from the paranoia and she turned to see what was happening.

“Stop it,” Perfuma took her hands away from the roots, balling them into fists as green light trailed behind them. “I’m trying to take away all the nasty things they put into you. You won’t survive if you keep giving me everything else.” She put her hands down into her lap, her voice lowering, “please, I just want to help you.” Glimmer placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Perfuma, we’ll find something else.” Glimmer said as Perfuma leaned into the touch. Adora felt the dread pooled in her stomach overflow, if Perfuma couldn’t do anything, what else could they do? Another shiver went up her spine and she felt herself take a step forwards without meaning to.

A thundering boom sounded from outside, a familiar one. Adora and Catra both went stock straight, glancing to each other for a moment. Cannon fire. Shouting filtered in from outside after a moment longer and they made for the door again.

Emerging from the forest around the base were what couldn’t be less than a battalion of robots, approaching the gaps in the walls in a clanking, whirring swarm, backed by the diesel roar of a full tank squad.

“Oh no,” Adora breathed, stepping outside. The Plumerians were outnumbered at least ten to one, and once those bots got their firing orders there was no way she’d be able to shield them all.

“She-Ra,” Perfuma’s voice sounded from behind her, she turned to look. Perfuma’s hands were clenched at her sides, her voice was tense almost to a growl, creepers were sprouting at her feet and her dark eyes seemed to glow green. “I’ve spent the last twenty minutes in communion with the Heart Blossom, and it has a message for the Horde. I’m going to deliver it. While I do, get my people out of here.” Adora opened her mouth to protest, but the shrinking fear in Perfuma’s gaze was gone, in its place was a leader’s steel and something primal that almost seemed to strain at her for release. “They’re what’s important.”

Adora swallowed and nodded.

Perfuma began to walk towards the walls, the plant life that trailed her growing larger and more tangled with each step, no less than a hundred different guns were trained on her in an instant. 

The Heart Blossom’s ‘message’ took the form of a guttural, roaring shout of a noise that few would ever have expected Perfuma’s skinny form was able to make. She pushed forward with both of her hands, the earth shaking and splintering at her feet as the greenery behind her surged to obey her command. The robots were too slow on the trigger, their shots blocked by the rampaging vines before they were bodily shoved away on a tide of life.

Adora blinked at her for a moment before shaking herself.

“You heard her, take the Plumerians and fall back!” She shouted, “no one dies here.” Glimmer and Bow both nodded before Glimmer grabbed a hold of him and vanished in pink light. Adora nodded to Catra, who’s face had gone unreadable, and moved to do her part.

She called on the power, her body filling with heat as the sword glowed bright and she slammed it across the ground. A shock wave travelled out, breaking up the terrain between where Perfuma held the army and the rest of the base with a thundering crack. It wouldn’t do much, but it would slow them down. “Come on,” she shouted to Catra, “we need to make sure they don’t outflank us.”

The tank’s cannon fire sounded and she heard Perfuma shout again, in pain this time, but the vine’s assault only faltered for a moment, bits around the edges dying and falling away. Something clicked and she skidded to a stop

These were reinforcements, which meant this base still needed either defending or retaking. This kind of force meant it was important, which meant there was still something they could do. The cold edge on She-Ra’s power tugged towards the machine again. She turned around.

“Stop,” Catra snapped, grabbing at her cape. “We’re getting out of here, remember? I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna be blown to pieces.”

“I can fix this!” Adora yelled back to be heard over the gunfire.

“No you can’t!” Catra growled, her claws digging into the cape until it tore in her grip. “You already tried the healing thing, you can’t get it to work yet. You know that. I am not letting you throw your life away on the off chance you get lucky!” 

“Trust me,” Adora pleaded, they were running out of time. “I know what I’m doing. Or, well, She-Ra does.” Catra’s eyes narrowed at her in that way they did when she was debating whether or not she could feasibly throw Adora over her shoulder. She relented after another blast of cannon fire and a pained yelp from Perfuma, releasing the cape.

“Fine, you get one try, then I’m hauling you out of here if I have to knock you out to do it.”

“Thank you,” Adora nodded at her.

“Thank me if we don’t die.”

They raced back towards the central building. A battered but still operational bot fell into their path, bits of vine still clinging to it, but it hardly had a chance to get its bearings before Catra was upon it, dragging her claws across its optic as she raced past. Adora finished the job, feeling metal and wiring give way as she hacked the disoriented machine in half with a downward chop.

The cold edge was getting stronger the closer she got to the machine, almost making her shiver now, whispering words at the edge of her thoughts that she couldn’t quite make out. It was, frankly, terrifying, like something was trying to grab a hold of her and use her like a puppet, but right now she could tell it knew what needed to be done, and they were out of time. She let it.

She didn’t black out, but there was a feeling of being almost shoved aside as she stepped back into the central building. Her hands and legs moved without her telling them to, suddenly deft and precise where she was still slightly fumbling with She-Ra’s form. She-Ra leapt up on top of the machine, the cold and warm parts of her mixing into something that burned like overexertion as she glowed bright and raised the sword high, blade down.

“For Etheria!” She-Ra roared as she stabbed the blade down into the machine with a wave of what felt like sheer power, boiling off the remaining toxin in an instant and bursting the tanks on its way down into the Heart Blossom.

Blue light swallowed Adora’s entire world, somehow gentle in the face of the riotous force she was pumping into it, and for a moment, Adora saw nothing.

She felt the euphoria of power, the might to build nations or tear them down with the same ease. She felt the teetering sickness of the world out of balance, the weight of her responsibility to fix it. She heard laughter, an explosion, she heard a call for retreat.  
“...you must…” A snippet of an unfamiliar voice, cold as the edge on She-Ra’s power.

“Adora.” Suddenly she was back, she blinked and managed not to stumble like a puppet with its strings cut. She-Ra had climbed down off of the machine and was halfway out of the room. She glanced towards the voice that had called her name.

Catra was staring at her, hands clenched at her sides and a hard edge in her eyes. Adora felt herself stiffen, could she tell she hadn’t been in control? Adora nearly smacked herself for that, of course she could tell, it was Catra.

Suddenly it felt very important that she know how long she’d let She-Ra steer her around, but she couldn’t find the words to ask. She just gaped at her like a fish for a moment before turning away, her brow furrowing.

Catra stepped closer- not close enough to touch, but closer- before she spoke. “Just a few seconds,” Catra knew what she’d wanted to ask, the security of that helped her regain a hold on herself. “We gonna talk about that or?”

“Later,” Adora said a bit quicker than she meant to. She could use whatever that had been in a pinch, she didn’t think She-Ra could take control without her permission, but the fact that it could happen at all still made her feel unsteady and frightened.

They’d just won, she knew that without even having to make it all the way outside. How she knew she couldn’t say, but victory meant it was time to smile, not freak out.

Compartmentalize, sort out her thoughts later, she could do that.

She gestured for Catra to follow her and stepped outside to greet a grateful, if rather badly bruised, Perfuma.

  


* * *

  


Adora’s ‘laters’ usually ended up meaning ‘not until I can’t avoid it anymore,’ but Catra had no intention of letting her put this one off past when she managed to get her alone. Besides, she wasn’t even entirely certain that had been Adora. 

She watched She-Ra carefully as Glimmer and Perfuma hashed out the details of Plumeria joining the alliance again. She’d stopped glowing, so she looked like Adora again, she held herself like Adora, and when she spoke it sounded like things Adora would say.

The issue was that if She-Ra was faking it, who was to say she couldn’t just reach into Adora’s head and pull out what she needed? She didn’t move like Adora, but Catra doubted she’d move the same with an extra two feet of herself and that kind of power bursting out of her, either. Catra didn’t know how She-Ra worked, nobody did from what she’d been able to gather. It could be anything. She could be pulling any kind of trick.

Adora didn’t lie to her- not on purpose, anyways- but She-Ra was an unknown, She-Ra could do anything.

Catra didn’t manage to even begin relaxing until they were out of Plumeria and She-Ra changed back into Adora, and even after that it was a slow thing. She was still watching Adora for signs of She-Ra, and Glimmer and Bow’s voices grated on her enough that she tuned out what they were saying pretty quick, they were mostly just talking about how exciting it had all been, anyways.

She didn’t need the play by play, she’d been there, she’d practically orchestrated it. Sure, she’d been expecting the Horde to win, but she’d been there for the upset. Which was hardly an upset, if she was honest.

The Horde had been too slow to act, if those reinforcements had shown up half an hour earlier Plumeria would have been crushed and not even She-Ra would have been able to save them. She wondered if that would be a pattern she needed to plan for, she’d have to study the map more closely next time she saw it to be sure. Maybe plan a few assaults on the outposts to test it.

The lie they chose to tell Angella was plausible, and close enough to the truth that not even Adora stumbled over it at all. They’d shown the Plumerians how to surprise and drive off the Horde- who had been surprisingly under equipped- then destroyed the machine. Glimmer left out the part about the tanks and robot swarm, but the point was that Plumeria was part of the alliance again and Angella was willing to consider Glimmer's proposal regarding the other Princesses.

When Angella dismissed them, Catra chose to stay behind. The Queen had given her a mission, after all, and she needed to report in. Adora hesitated again, her shoulders coming up the way they did when she’d spot the air around Shadow Weaver’s hands crackling red.

“Later,” Catra nodded her towards the door, she would be fine, she didn’t need a babysitter. She smirked at Adora’s confusion, but after a moment longer, Adora obeyed.

“I really don’t need you to report on my daughter’s actions, you know.” Angella spoke once the door was closed.

“Wasn’t that the whole point?” Catra asked, blinking. Not even a minute alone with her and Angella was already putting her on the back foot. Again. She refused to let this become a habit. “You wanted me to look after them, right?”

“And I assume you did so,” Angella countered smoothly, that same unfamiliar, weighty yet soft expression expression from last time settling over her brow. “Considering they’re both here and unharmed.”

“But they disobeyed your direct order,” Catra snapped, hoping to get some kind of rise out of her. She didn’t need Angella to get angry the way Shadow Weaver would have, but she needed to take some kind of control of this situation. “They didn’t just let the Plumerians handle it, they were right in the thick of it with them, they went in first.”

“I knew that the moment Glimmer told me the Horde had been chased off; I’ve known Perfuma since she was a little girl, she’s never been the first to take action, and my Glimmer has never been the type who would sit back and watch. Besides, you went along with them,” Angella’s voice wasn’t accusing, and her expression hadn’t changed, she was unflapped. Catra nodded slowly, “then you obviously approved of their plans.”

“‘Approved’ isn’t the right word,” Catra huffed, “you can’t stop Adora when she gets ideas. You just have to steer her away from stupid.”

“Which is what you did, ‘steer her away from stupid?’” Catra let her eyes narrow and nodded again, what kind of game was she playing at? “Then you have done exactly what I asked of you, and a good job of it, at that. Though I must admit, I do not appreciate her lying to me.” She felt her ears perk up before she could stop them and Angella gave her a faint smile.

Catra shoved down on the fireworks going off in her chest at even that meager praise and schooled her ears back down. A good job? She wasn’t even really sure what she was supposed to be doing.

“I thought you didn’t trust them,” she tried to say it with some force, to accuse her- of what she wasn’t sure- but instead it came out as an almost embarrassed murmur.

“I’d trust Glimmer with my life,” Angella spoke evenly, with a conviction that surprised Catra, though she was able to keep it from showing this time. “As I’m sure you’d trust Adora with yours. Together, I’d trust the two of them with the safety of the entire Rebellion.” Catra made careful note of the implication that Angella didn’t trust Adora on her own. “But, and as someone who grew up with Adora I’m sure you can attest, there is nothing in this world more dangerous to itself than a hero with something to prove. The two of them have quite a lot riding on their shoulders, they have much to prove.”

Catra could think of a few things more dangerous, but all she needed was to remember She-Ra’s vacant stare to get the point.

“Yeah,” Catra couldn’t meet Angella’s eyes any longer. Something heavy was settling in her gut and looking at her was only making it worse.

“Catra?” She saw Angella rise from her throne in the corner of her eye, “did something happen?” 

How did she make her voice so soft? It was like all the pieces of what she’d been jealous of Adora for getting from Shadow Weaver but with something warm behind them instead of cold, calculated steel. It wasn’t fair. She almost felt bad for rolling her eyes at Glimmer, Angella was definitely intense. Just in a different way than Catra was used to.

“They’re safe, they’re not hurt.” Catra insisted, trying to steel herself and forcing her eyes back onto Angella.

“But one of them could have been. One of them pushed too far, didn’t they?” Angella stepped closer like a whisper, her movements deliberate in the same way Adora’s got when she wasn’t sure if she was allowed in Catra’s space. That was at least some familiar ground in reading Angella. 

She narrowed her eyes at her after the second step and Angella stopped coming closer, just standing there with her hands clasped. They studied each other for a moment longer before Angella closed her eyes and nodded to herself, murmuring, “Adora.” Catra didn’t blink, but she felt her tail go very still for the bare second it took for Angella to open her eyes again.

She sighed, “she’ll need you, then. She’s just as frightened as you are.”

“I’m not scared,” Catra hissed, indignation pulling her out of Angella’s searching gaze.

“Good,” Angella had the nerve to smile at that, “she’ll be much more afraid than you, then.” The smile did something odd around the edges, something sombre, and a little bit afraid. “Trust me, she won’t want to show it, but few things scare a hero more than the moment they realize they’re a danger to themselves.”

Catra felt her brow furrow and decided to just let it, anyone could see Catra cared about Adora, it was just the extent of that she kept close to her chest. She was allowed to worry about her sometimes.

“Catra,” Angella broke her out of her thoughts, “you don’t need me to dismiss you.” Catra blinked and suddenly realized she was shifting her feet awkwardly, almost bouncing on her toes with impatience. She blinked again, she felt stuck, like something was holding her to the spot. It would feel… _wrong,_ to move right then, to even ask.

“I-” the words caught in her throat, her ears turning down and her claws retracting. It was such an open admission of weakness, but if she didn’t say it she doubted she’d be able to make herself move, and this was not something she wanted to happen again. “I think I do.”

There it was again, that look like she’d just told Angella someone had forgotten a bomb in her basement. She didn’t know why, but seeing it made the bottom of her stomach drop out and her fingers burn where they’d last touched Shadow Weaver’s crystal.

“Oh, you may go if you like then.” Catra just nodded and turned to go, not wanting to look Angella in the eye. “And Catra,” she paused, halfway out the door, “if you feel you must… I will listen to your reports.” Catra saw what she was doing, she was leaving an excuse open to come talk to her. Angella knew better than to openly offer an ear, but still wanted to make it clear Catra could have it if she wanted. She just kept giving Catra options, like she was trying to get her used to the idea of having them.

Why would Angella want that?

Catra closed the door behind her.

There was something dangerous about Angella. She hadn’t found her out, she cared too much about Glimmer’s safety for this to be her reaction to discovering there was a spy. This was something else, something that she felt existed right on the tip of her tongue, or perhaps just beyond her experience.

Whatever it was, Catra stomped it out. It wouldn’t matter in the end, Angella was just as dead as the rest of the Rebellion. None of this was real.

What was real was Adora, and Angella might have been right, Adora might be just as scared of She-Ra as Catra was.

There was only one place Adora would be if she was worried, so Catra headed down to the base of the castle. Sure enough Catra found her in the stomped flat circle of the training grounds, going through forms with the clouded intensity in her eyes that meant she was lost in thought.

She considered interrupting her, but decided against it for the moment. This was how Adora sorted her thoughts, she probably wouldn’t even have the words to answer her question before she was done. Glancing around, she noticed the sword hung up on a nearby rack alongside Adora’s jacket and sauntered over to it, picking it up.

She couldn’t get herself to hold it like Adora did, it was just too oddly balanced. She flicked it through the air a couple times, smooth as water, and wondered how Adora managed to put so much weight behind her strikes. It felt like all of its mass was in the crossguard and handle, but when she placed it on a clawtip to test that it tipped forwards towards the blade.

She frowned and adjusted the position. When she finally managed to get it to balance on her finger her hand was almost a third of the way up the blade, perfectly in the middle of the sword.

Adora held it like all of the weight was on the end of the blade, and when Catra held it, it felt like all the weight was in her hand, but they were both wrong. Catra huffed to herself, probably more weird magic stuff. She put the sword where she’d found it and leaned against the rack to watch Adora.

She found her eyes wandering over Adora’s body as she watched. Catching on the way her muscles shifted and tensed beneath her undershirt, the simple, effective ways she moved and struck that didn’t flow quite the way Catra could make her own movements, but still had a quiet, dignified elegance about them. A far cry from how she moved in her day to day, when she let her anxieties take hold and stiffen her limbs.

It usually took a while for Adora to work up a sweat, so she had probably come straight down here after she’d left the briefing given the light sheen on her brow. Even as familiar as this sight was, it still sent a pleasant, almost anxious lightning through Catra’s limbs as her eyes lingered on the crook of Adora’s neck and her mind idly wandered to resting her head there before she shoved the thought away so it wouldn’t make her face burn.

Catra would say Adora looked relaxed if it weren’t for the way her brow was furrowed, her lips curved down in concentration. Catra rubbed the pads of her fingers as she quieted the urge to move closer, to smooth away those troubled lines from her face with her fingertips. Later, she promised herself, for now she just needed to wait, and then she needed answers.

Few people would say patience was one of Catra’s strong suits, but the daytime moon was nearing the horizon when Adora finally stopped, breathing heavy and flushed with exertion. It worked to Catra’s advantage, there was almost no foot traffic down here now, she wouldn’t need to find some hidden corner somewhere to talk to her.

“Hey Adora,” she drawled when Adora’s eyes drifted over to her. Adora’s smile was a little apprehensive, but her face still lit up when she saw her and Catra felt her heart flutter. She pressed a nail against her knuckles to keep herself on track, “we need to talk.” Adora’s smile shrunk, but after a quick glance around she nodded.

“Pass me a towel?” She asked, pointing to another rack someone had apparently designated for hand towels. Catra nodded and tossed one along to her, stepping closer as Adora dried her face. “I’m not sure where to start,” she admitted through the cloth. Catra waved the remark off, she’d been thinking about it the whole time.

“When you transform, how much of it is you, and how much is She-Ra?” Adora blinked at her, her brow furrowing again. “That’s all I really need to know, anything else we can work through as it comes up, but this…” She felt her eyes narrow and crossed her arms, “she looks right through me, Adora, like I’m not even there.” Catra needed to know none of that was Adora, that Adora would never look at her like that. It went unsaid, but she hoped the message got through anyways. Adora looked down for a moment before she responded.

“I think she’d be like that with anybody,” she admitted. “She’s cold, Catra. Like ice. I’m pretty sure the only reason she pays attention to me is that I’m the one with the sword.” Adora glanced over to the rack the sword was still hanging on, her expression pinched and frightened. “It’s me, mostly. Far as I know the best way to tell is if I talk, I don’t think she can; I don’t think she can come out without my permission, either, and she only seems to want to when I’m trying to do something I’m not ready for.” Catra felt a weight lifting off her shoulders, knowing She-Ra wasn’t going to try and mimic Adora made this all so much simpler.

“So the more stuff you can do, the less we have to see her?” Catra pressed, uncrossing her arms. Adora’s expression tightened slightly and she glanced up as she considered it.

“I guess,” she said more like a question, “I don’t actually know how it works, but that sounds right.”

“Good,” Catra said firmly, “then I’m gonna help you train.”

“I don’t think-”

“Lucky I don’t pay you to think, then, bruiser.” Catra smarmed, Adora let out a quick laugh. “I’m doing it.”

“I was _going_ to say, I don’t think I have any more training in me today.” She gave Catra a playful shove, “but we can definitely do it tomorrow if you’re cool with waking up at the crack of dawn.”

“Ew, no way.” Catra made a show of recoiling, turning up her nose at the prospect as Adora chuckled at her. “Why can’t you just take advantage of the fact there’s no wakeup call here like a sane person?”

“Probably cause the beds here are the worst,” Adora sighed, putting her towel back onto the rack as she passed it. “I still feel terrible about breaking mine open.” Catra crooked a brow at her. “Don’t give me that look, you couldn’t sleep in yours, either,” Adora snipped, Catra just shrugged back.

“Wasn’t the bed,” she said simply as Adora retrieved her coat and sword, “and at least I didn’t kill mine.”

“Aw, you missed me?” Adora teased easy as breathing.

“Only your snoring,” Catra snipped back just as breezily.

“You’re the one who snores, and we both know it.” Adora said, hands on her hips. Catra meandered over and threw an arm around her shoulders.

“Can’t we both snore?” She asked, Adora snorted out another laugh.

“I’ve got to get cleaned up,” Adora said with a roll of her eyes. “Promise you’ll actually be in your room tonight?”

“Sure you wouldn’t rather sleep on the corpse of your victim, oh great mattress murderer?” Catra grinned and Adora threw her an exasperated look, “fine, I promise.”

Catra released her as they headed back into the castle, watching Adora’s expression again. The worried tension was gone, she’d managed to take her mind off of everything for a bit. She wondered how long that would last, and a traitorous part of her wondered if she’d even be able to do that anymore once this was all over.

She bit the inside of her cheek to shake it off, of course she would, it would just take some time.

Catra’s ears twitched as they approached Adora’s door, she heard movement inside, then a voice that was definitely Bow’s shushing someone else. She rolled her eyes as Adora opened it, revealing Glimmer and Bow holding sleeping bags.

“What is this?” Adora chuckled, Catra cocked an eyebrow and looked past them. Where the enormous pile of clouds that had been passed off as a bed used to be, there was a simple mattress on legs. Catra tilted her head at it, it was kind of like someone had taken the top half of a bunk and shaved down the legs until it was at about knee height.

Catra slipped over to it as Glimmer and Bow explained what they were doing, the mattress was considerably thicker than the bunks at the Fright Zone but luckily nowhere near the monstrosity that had been in the room originally.

“We were going to invite Catra, too,” Bow’s voice tuned her back into the conversation, “but we wanted it to be a surprise and you two are kind of attached at the hip most of the time, so we just brought a third sleeping bag!”

“The heck is this?” She asked, pointing towards the new bed.

“It’s… the new bed we got Adora,” Glimmer said slowly, like she wasn’t sure if it was a trick question. “Since she killed the last one.”

“I can see that, but why is it off the ground? There’s nothing underneath it. Even your weird hanging bed gives you more floor space.”

Glimmer looked to Bow, who looked to Glimmer, and they both made a thoughtful humming sort of noise.

“We don’t actually know.” Glimmer said after a couple more seconds.

“I’ll have to ask my Dads about it next chance I get,” Bow added, sounding a little excited to not know something, weirdo.

“Who cares?” Adora drawled as she sat down on the bed, “it’s wonderful.” She splayed out onto it, “Catra, come try this.” Catra rolled her eyes but sat down next to her. It wasn’t anywhere near as rocklike as the beds back in the Fright Zone, but it had a very pleasant firmness to it. She nodded appreciatively.

“We can do this again tomorrow, too, if you like,” Bow grinned, obviously pleased their efforts were appreciated.

“Thanks guys,” Adora smiled, propping herself up on her elbows. “I may not be the perfect hero everyone wants me to be, but that’s okay.” Catra rolled her eyes and went for a pillow at the same moment Glimmer did, the two of them clocking Adora cross the face with them one after another.

“Of course it’s okay,” Glimmer said with a sharp grin. “Do you have any idea how annoying you’d be if you were perfect?”

“Speaking from experience,” Catra added, “it’s insufferable.” Adora took up a pillow in retaliation, Bow quickly joining in with his own battle cry.

“Best Friend Squad!”

“Yeah, we’re not calling ourselves that,” Adora said.

“I prefer ‘The Glimmer Group,’” Glimmer offered.

“Catra’s Crew,” Catra snipped back with a smirk. Bow made a face like he was legitimately considering his options before he waved them both off.

“Nah, we’re the Best Friend Squad,” he decided.

The ensuing disagreement was fierce and argued entirely through pillows, and by the end of it Catra had forgotten they were slinging pillows for any reason other than just to do it.

Catra had slipped into her bag when everyone decided it was time to sleep and waited until she heard Glimmer and Bow’s breathing even out.

Once she was sure they were asleep she sat up, looking them over before turning to Adora. Adora was watching her through drooping, tired eyes, her hair half out of its usual ponytail and doing funny things to Catra’s heart rate. She beaconed Catra over and she slipped back out of her sleeping bag.

“You know,” Adora yawned as Catra climbed into the bed, “it’s just occurred to me that we probably don’t have to wait until everyone else is asleep anymore.” Catra rolled her eyes and moved to settle down on top of Adora’s legs.

Adora reached down and placed a loose hand on Catra’s shoulder, “could you come up here?” She asked quietly, nearly a whisper, “I don’t think we need to do that anymore, either.” Catra’s mouth suddenly felt like it was full of cotton but she nodded. “Good, I want you… close…” Adora’s eyes drifted closed and she was asleep almost before the words were out of her mouth.

Catra huffed quietly to herself and layed down next to Adora, propping herself up on an elbow to watch her slowly unwinding expression. Adora was the sort of person whose dreams you could follow just by watching their face while they slept, so she was always at her most peaceful just after she dozed off.

Catra smiled to herself, brushing a strand of hair out of Adora’s face before she settled in, she removed her headguard to let impulse take her and draped herself over Adora’s side, her face settling onto her shoulder and an arm thrown around her stomach. The bed was nice, and the air was warm, but honestly Catra had all she needed right here. Wrapped in Adora’s warmth, she slept better than she could ever remember having slept before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are ready for the Fluff portion of Fluff and Angst! And I've actually got an intermission chapter for this one, so look forwards to that! I know I am. ^_^  
> 


	10. Intermission 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perfuma stands her ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really wanted the battle scene in the last chapter to be more involved, but with the way things shook out I had to cut most of it because it didn't hit quite the same from Adora or Catra's perspectives as it did from Perfuma's. So here's Perfuma's.  
> I have also discovered I don't actually know how to write what goes on in Perfuma's head most of the time, but a loving ruler is a loving ruler. Another reason this is relegated to Intermission status.

Perfuma could feel the Heart Blossom sputtering out beneath her hands. The familiar, light-kissed warmth of it smothered beneath something cloying, cold and malicious. She took a deep breath to steady herself, trying again to pull the sticking darkness off of her runestone’s essence. Again, the weak warmth of the Heart Blossom answered her, giving ever more of its dwindling power to her, each time with a mounting sense of tension.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, it wasn’t right. The Heart Blossom had given her, given her people, so much over the course of her life; and now when she was trying to give back it wouldn’t let her. 

Her eyes began to sting around the edges and she sniffed to drive the tightness from her throat. It wasn’t over yet, she couldn’t cry yet. The comfortable warmth of the Heart Blossom’s touch brushed over her again, lingering on her cheeks, protective, consoling, feigning strength it didn’t truly have to spare even now. She shook her head, the sensation tugging at familiar, buried places.

“Please,” she murmured, “stay with us.” She took another breath to center herself for another attempt. Something shifted, a tremor in the earth beneath her knees, the protective force of the Heart Blossom’s power draping itself across her more firmly, pushing more of itself out to her. It wasn’t angry, but that tension felt like it could snap at any moment, building higher and higher inside herself as it funnelled more of its power into her.

She grit her teeth and decided to press back, opening herself to let the power flow back out into the Heart Blossom. A pain blossomed behind her eyes as it pushed back hard enough that she almost felt herself physically repelled. Her eyes flicked open, it had refused her outright. She felt its presence settle across her body again, a gentle but insistent pressure on her hands.

She couldn’t stifle the frustrated noise that came from her as she pulled her hands away. She felt filled to bursting, energy flowing from her fingertips enough to leave trails in the air behind them. “Stop it,” she balled her fists, trying to stem the flow of energy as she pleaded with it. “I’m trying to take away all the nasty things they put into you. You won’t survive if you keep giving me everything else.”

She swallowed around the lump in her throat, lowering her trembling hands into her lap. Did it not understand? “Please,” she’d always thought of the Heart Blossom as something otherworldly. Ancient, all-knowing and permanent, even if she could never say it exactly spoke to her. It was always there, she’d grown up with its shadow watching over her; it had been there before her, and it was supposed to be there when she was gone. But now it felt like she was going to have to sit here and watch it die. “I just want to help.”

She’d braced herself to watch it happen from afar, but now, sitting among its roots, after she’d had a moment of hope, it was too much for her. She didn’t want it to go.

“It’s okay, Perfuma,” Glimmer’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “We’ll find something else.” Glimmer’s hand on her shoulder was different from the Heart Blossom’s touch, but she leaned into it nonetheless, not bothering to blink away the stinging in her eyes now.

Glimmer meant what she said, but this wasn’t something it felt like they could fix anymore. If the Heart Blossom had given up, what could they hope to do? A thundering boom made Perfuma jump, wiping the tears from her eyes. The power the Heart Blossom had given her began to snap and crackle around the edges of her essence and she understood.

The Heart Blossom was dying, but it wasn’t going to let itself go quietly.

“Oh no,” She-Ra- no- Adora looked unsteady. She could tell, too, couldn’t she? Adora was She-Ra, it was her job to feel these things. Perfuma’s people would need her. If the Heart Blossom was dying, Perfuma would be useless, they’d need She-Ra more than they needed her.

It was almost funny, she’d always thought her life would end the way all Plumerian Princesses were supposed to. Nestled up against the trunk of the Heart Blossom, a quiet breath and a long sleep.

“She-Ra,” she made up her mind, the certainty settling both her nerves and the restless snapping of the Heart Blossom. She was wrapped in the Heart Blossom’s power, the long sleep was coming, but the breath was going to be loud, she supposed. If this was the universe’s plan for her, it was close enough. “I’ve spent the last twenty minutes in communion with the Heart Blossom.” She could feel her power curling out from inside her, already blessing the earth in preparation for when it would be released. “And it has a message for the Horde. I’m going to deliver it. While I do, get my people out of here.” She was scared, the Heart Blossom was scared, but there wasn’t time for that, and that wasn’t what mattered right then. “They’re what’s important.”

As she stepped past She-Ra she loosened her hands, letting the power to the surface. She could feel it seeping into the ground around her, branching and twisting through the plants it called up from the earth, ringing in her ears and drowning out the sound of the machines she marched out to face. The tension wound tighter. Not in agitation, but preparation this time.

She stopped with a final firm step, her eyes locked on one of the jagged, industrial tanks breaking through the walls.

The tension snapped all at once, tearing its way out of her throat in a roar that was as much Perfuma as it was the Heart Blossom. Power surged from her as she threw her arms forwards, the vines behind her reacting and surging forwards. The tank Perfuma had her eyes locked on was lifted high into the air on a tide of greenery that erupted from beneath it.

She could feel every blast and jab at the vines she wielded as the robots began fighting back. She used it to navigate, deciding where to let the Heart Blossom’s power rampage based on wherever the most pinpricks of pain arching up her fingertips were coming from.

It was as chaotic as it was mechanical, her motions simple even as the vines thrashed and writhed at whatever they were pointed towards. A sweeping movement of her hand became an equally sweeping blow of tangled vines across the swarm, but the same motion also sent singular tendrils out to wrap around robots and slam them against the ground or their allies.

Pushing forward sent a practical tidal wave of plants rushing through the enemy, smashing and tossing them around without care for where they ended up. There was a part of Perfuma that felt she should probably be feeling worse about this. It was terrifying, it was her attention divided a hundred different ways, a tingle in her gut, an immense catharsis each time a robot was crushed in her grip and a rush of almost vengeful exhilaration to face the rest.

Let them fight. Let them watch. Let them try to burn her away. She was the will of the Heart Blossom, the hand of the universe, a force to be reckoned with, and she would not fall yet.

Then the first cannon hit.

In her practical cocoon of vines she was somewhat sheltered from the beam, but the blast it left behind nearly knocked the wind out of her, leaving her ears ringing and hands shaking. She felt a great swath of the plants she’d summoned wither and die in its wake, her power stretched too thin to both protect her and maintain so much after that kind of damage.

Not yet. She wouldn’t fall yet. She didn’t know if her people had made it out yet, and she wouldn’t check. It would be too easy to get distracted, to let herself run if she knew they were nearly done. They needed every second she could give them, and she was going to make sure they had enough.

Throwing out a hand, she bid the vines to envelope the tank that had shot at her. They obeyed eagerly, digging in between the seams of its armour and shoving the machine apart with the metallic shriek of bending steel.

Another blast hit and she felt it all the way up in her head, forcing another pained shout from her as she called the vines back, shoring up her defense. If that got a clean shot at her it was over.

The Heart Blossom’s power was starting to peter out. It wasn’t even that she’d used too much of it too fast, the runestone was just fading. It was all she could do just to keep herself hunkered down, lashing at anything that came near. There was a sizzling whine in the air, growing stronger by the second. With an electric scream something punched through her cocoon just to her left, the pressure of the air around it overheating buffeting at her and tossing her against the other side of the cocoon.

The sizzle started again, whatever that had been preparing another shot. Fear rushed up Perfuma’s spine, freezing her in place for moments too long. She was going to die here. She knew that, she’d wanted to accept it, but now? Now she felt like there should be something, anything she could do. She felt the remnants of the Heart Blossom’s power drape across her shoulders, tender, comforting. It was over, for both of them. 

She closed her eyes as the whine reached fever-pitch.

The scream didn’t come, instead there was a wash of something warm, blue light filtering through her eyelids. The Heart Blossom’s presence shifted and grew, familiar strength settling across her bones. Perfuma’s eyes snapped open, looking around at the flowing, blue light drifting across her vines, revitalizing her entire world.

A tentative smile spread across her face, and a new, hopeful certainty stirred inside her. Adora had done it, they’d won.


	11. Stars?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora begins to understand anger.  
> Catra goes with the flow.  
> Neither of them know who this is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: I'm not lonely.  
> Also me: Struggles for two weeks to remember what it's like to wake up in somebody's arms.
> 
> It's Razz Time, cause I figured out what to do with her.
> 
> Sorry this one was late, as said above, I had some trouble figuring out Adora's section.

Adora couldn’t remember the last time she’d woken up slowly. Normally it was like something fed lightning through her limbs, with the only thing that stopped her from jolting upright fast enough to hit her head on the bunk above her the weight of Catra’s body settled over her feet.

This morning, however, waking up was a hazy experience. The first thing she was aware of was warmth. Tucked beneath her chin and draped across her body, wrapped in her arms and enveloping her in turn. She took in a deep breath, finding it heavy with a familiar, comforting scent. Catra.

She held her breath for a long moment, like she could trap this feeling if she could keep the air from escaping.

She shifted as she let the breath out in a long, contented sigh. The next thing she was aware of was how soft Catra was beneath her hands. At some point in the night her hands had found their way underneath Catra’s shirt and were now splayed across her back, soft fur slipping between her fingers as she carefully squeezed her tighter. She felt Catra shift in her grip, nuzzling in closer against her chest.

Seeking shelter. An anxious, protective instinct flared in the back of Adora’s mind at the thought, her pulse quickening as she forced her eyes open to glance around. The morning moon was only just rising, its light halfway across the room. Bow and Glimmer were both sleeping soundly in their bedrolls. There were shadows across the room but they were soft, empty, no threat.

Adora caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to face it fast enough that she jerked, one of her hands catching on Catra’s shirt and nearly dislodging her from her spot as Adora freed it and turned from her side onto her back. It was only a curtain, shifting in the faint wind coming through the open window. Had that window been open last night? Yes, Glimmer had opened it because it had been warm outside last night, the breeze had been nice.

They were safe, Catra was safe.

The tension wasn’t leaving her nonetheless. It hardly mattered, she supposed, they needed to get up. She felt Catra shift again and looked down. Catra had leaned into the empty space Adora left behind, pressing the side of her head against Adora’s chest and turning her face towards Adora’s. There was a moment where she tensed and Adora felt her own face burn with shame that her paranoia had already woken her up. Then Catra let out her breath in a low, rumbling purr, her face still calm with sleep.

Adora felt a small, fond smile tugging at her face. Catra did have a point about this place, there were no wake-up calls. If she wanted she could lay here a while longer. She let her free hand settle on Catra’s arm, keeping her touch light so she wouldn’t wake her.

She was gorgeous, half bathed in the morning light. Her hair mussed with sleep and hanging down over her face, framing the dark smattering of freckles on her cheeks. Adora lifted her hand again to settle it on her shoulder and stroke down. Going against the direction of her fur would wake Catra in a heartbeat, and she found she didn’t want that just yet. Let her sleep, she was safe, Adora would keep her safe.

She could do that. She could really do that now. It was still sinking in, granted there hadn’t been much time for it to do that, with everything that was happening. They were out. She blinked, her vision blurring. They were really out.

She lifted her hand again, moving to brush Catra’s hair out of her face, but it froze as her fingers nearly ghosted across Catra’s cheek. It felt wrong, that touch belonged to Shadow Weaver, to pain and punishment. She took a deep breath that hitched and stuttered with the storm of warm feelings mixing with a dark, angry thing in her chest that was steadily becoming more familiar. Moving her hand further up to tuck the lock of hair behind Catra’s ear she gently settled her hand there instead. She felt a knot in her shoulders come undone; this was alright, this touch belonged to her.

Catra began to purr again, soft and continuous this time, a smile gentler than anything she’d let herself do while awake gracing her lips as Adora twined her fingers through the shorter hair behind her ear.

Catra kept herself so closed off, all angles and edges even when she was being kind. She wouldn’t have to do that all the time anymore, but Adora supposed it would take time for her to untangle it, so until then she would be content with moments like this. No matter how selfish it felt not to share it with her properly. She was allowed to be selfish in little ways now and again, wasn’t she?

The thought was disquieting in ways she didn’t quite understand, but Catra’s arms about her waist squeezed her closer before it could make her tense too much, driving away the anxious thoughts and bringing her back to the moment. Adora returned the favour, her arm still around Catra’s back helping to pull her close, her fingers idly brushing through her fur.

How long had it been since the last time they’d been this tangled together? She wondered as she watched Catra’s sleeping face. Had they ever let this happen? She felt like the closest she could remember them getting before this was when Catra would tackle or lie on top of her; but those moments tended to be quick, just bursts of affection and excitement that left almost as quickly as they arrived.

Adora wouldn’t say they held each other at arms length, but with Shadow Weaver around, always looking for more ways to get in their heads, it had just become habit not to linger too long. So Catra stayed at the foot of the bed, just barely within reach; Adora stayed vigilant, always ready to step away, and they stayed safe.

That dark thing under Adora’s skin roiled at the fact they hadn’t been allowed this until now but she ignored it. She had it now, and it was good, it was right.

And yet, Adora felt her head tilting forward, slowly closing the remaining gap between them. She wanted to be even closer, she wanted… she didn’t have the words, didn’t have a name for it, but watching Catra’s eyes flick beneath her eyelids it felt like she was so close.

She took another deep breath to steady herself and stopped, her face inches from Catra’s. If she didn’t know what it was, she could hardly ask for it, could she? This was enough to content her, more than that, she was happy. It was a simple sort of happiness, grounded and certain, but there was so much of it she felt like she might burst if she didn’t do anything with it. So her hands kept moving, gently playing with Catra’s fur, keeping her close, keeping her safe.

She wasn’t sure how long she lay there, admiring the long memorized details of Catra’s face and listening to the soft rumble of her breathing, but eventually, as the moonlight crossed the entire floor, restlessness started to take hold of her.

On a normal day they’d have been up and doing drills as soon as Adora had woken, probably even earlier by her reckoning. She didn’t want to, per se, she would have loved to sit and continue to enjoy Catra’s weight against her, but it was getting increasingly difficult to do that in the face of the routine apparently baked right into her bones.

She considered trying to slip out from underneath Catra without waking her up, but she’d promised her that they’d work on She-Ra together. So with a heavy sigh she pulled her hands away, giving Catra a gentle shove.

Catra’s grip on her tightened for a moment, her eyes flickering open and shut, and she made a soft, creaking chirp of a noise that sent a giddy thrill straight to Adora’s head.

“Catra, we’ve gotta get up.” Adora chuckled, pushing herself up to a sitting position. Catra groaned, her face scrunching as she clung tighter, ending up dragged along for the ride.

“No,” Catra murmured insistently, though she made no attempt to pull Adora back down. Instead, she shifted her grip so her chin landed on Adora’s shoulder. “Don’ wanna.” Adora huffed, making a show of stretching to force Catra to release her.

“You’re the one who insisted you’d help me train,” she admonished with a grin, watching Catra blink and wince against the light as her blown-wide pupils slowly focused down to their usual slits.

“Wha’ ‘bout Glimmer and Bow?” She grumbled, rolling her shoulders and idly scratching at the uncovered fluff on her stomach. Adora felt momentarily embarrassed to have pulled up Catra’s shirt like that in the night, but it didn’t seem to be bothering her.

“Do you want to wake them?” Adora asked. Catra narrowed her eyes, her ears tilting back in the way they did when she was trying to decide how vengeful she was feeling and didn’t care who could tell. They shifted forward again and she let out an irritated huff, she’d decided on mercy.

“Not this time,” Catra murmured, her bleary eyes focusing and sparking with something unspoken that sent a thrill up Adora’s spine and made more of that nameless, wanting feeling pool in her chest.

“In that case,” Adora swung herself off the bed, giving another stretch, “we should get moving before they wake up on their own.” Catra gave each of them a skeptical look but shrugged and moved to follow Adora’s lead, her footsteps silent as she straightened out her clothes. Adora had always admired that about her, even when she was trying her hardest Adora had a habit of clunking around a little, but Catra would have been able to sneak up on her wearing a bell.

When they made it to the door Adora reached for it, but Catra waved her away, taking the handle of the door and opening it just enough for the two of them to slip out. Once on the other side, Catra slid the door closed again, only the faintest click coming from the latch. Adora couldn’t help the giggle that came out of her, Catra’s face was so deadly serious, more like they’d just sneaked out from beneath a guard’s vigil than trying not to wake their friends. Catra blinked at her before cracking a smile herself and gesturing for Adora to follow.

The encampment at the base of the castle was quietly buzzing with activity when they arrived. Early enough that things were still being set up for the day, but late enough that nobody needed to be yelled at to do it anymore. Adora found herself oddly grateful they’d missed that part. She wasn’t sure she’d have been able to resist the urge to help out if they hadn’t, and she had her own work to do today.

“How much of an audience do you feel like having?” Catra drawled, pulling Adora out of her thoughts. She blinked and Catra rolled her eyes, gesturing to the training ring. It was considerably more populated than it had been the last few times Adora had been down here, soldiers going through their morning drills buzzing about the place. Adora felt herself make a face. “Not much then,” something unreadable passed through Catra’s eyes before shifting to an irritation that if Adora was right was mostly performative. “There’s a spot near the stables that doesn’t see a lot of traffic.”

Adora had to force down a grin, but she wasn’t lucky enough for it to go unnoticed. “Hey,” Catra snapped, “only if you promise not to get distracted.” Adora nodded, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically if the way Catra’s eyes narrowed was any indication. After a frankly agonizing moment under her scrutiny, Catra turned with a huff that was half a chuckle and gestured for Adora to follow again.

The stables were on the edge of the camp, and opened into a fenced-in pasture. This early in the morning there weren’t many people around them, and those that were, were inside cleaning. Catra led her to a spot of relatively flattened ground outside the far end of the fence, bordering the Whispering Woods almost too close for comfort.

Adora threw the woods a suspicious look, but Catra didn’t seem particularly bothered, so she forced herself to relax with a long breath.

Another unreadable expression flitted across Catra’s face as she turned towards Adora again and crossed her arms. “Bring her out,” she said just a touch too casually, her claws bared against her upper arms.

“Hey,” Adora said as she pulled the sword off her back, “it’s still gonna be me.” Catra blinked, her lip twitching with a contained snarl. Adora felt an impish grin spread across her own face as an idea took hold, “I’ll prove it.” She lifted the sword high, “for the Honor of Greyskull!”

The transformation was an easier thing than it had been in Plumeria, that cold presence barely even stirring. Adora supposed without something so glaringly wrong so close the cold part of She-Ra wasn’t as interested in what was happening, leaving warmth to fill her almost unimpeded.

It felt better like this, more natural, for some reason. She shook herself slightly and locked eyes on Catra, who was watching her with a guarded sort of expectancy. She took a moment to just look at her, at her, not through her. It was still sort of odd being taller than her sometimes now that she thought about it. She wasn’t quite sure she liked the angle.

Then she took a deep breath, puffed out her cheeks and blew a raspberry as hard as she could. Catra jumped in surprise, her ears and hair bristling with it before she could catch herself. Adora grinned, “see? Still me.”

“ _ That _ was your signal?” Catra blinked, rather plainly fighting down a grin, “seriously?” Adora puffed out her chest proudly and Catra’s faux irritation broke, the wonderfully sharp tone of her laugh escaping as she rolled her eyes. “Yeah, that’s definitely you.” She sighed, “what am I gonna do with you?”

“Help me figure this out?” Adora offered hopefully.

“You’d obviously have to do it the hard way without me.” Catra rolled her eyes again, stepping a little closer and looking her up and down. “Give me a couple jumping jacks,” she ordered. Adora found herself obeying almost before she could think about it, and teetering a little at the end of it.

Catra hummed to herself, “don’t move,” she started stalking around Adora, scanning her up and down until she was out of Adora’s range of vision. Then Adora suddenly felt weight pound against her shoulders, landing and then shoving back off, throwing her off balance and nearly tipping her over outright.

“Whoa,” she stumbled forward, wheeling her arms to regain her balance. “What was that?” She snapped, turning to face Catra, who’d landed in a crouch.

“You’re topheavy,” Catra offered, standing up straight, “and way too tense. It’s probably the armour. Gold’s not exactly light.” Adora nodded, widening her stance a little. Catra shook her head, “we need to figure out where your center is now before we start doing that.” Adora blinked and straightened, trying to force the tension out of her shoulders with another deep breath.

Catra looked her over for a moment longer before a grin spread across her face, “stand on one foot.” Adora narrowed her eyes at her, but lifted a foot and almost immediately found herself leaning towards that side. “Don’t overcorrect,” Catra snapped, moving closer to tug on the half-skirt and help her regain her balance. “Wow, it’s really up there,” Catra commented once they managed to stabilize her.

She glanced at Adora’s raised foot and crooked an eyebrow, “How heavy are those boots?” Adora blinked.

“I’m not sure, I’m a lot stronger like this,” she wobbled slightly and shifted her arms to compensate, “it makes judging that kind of weird.” Catra made an irritated face.

“Lower your foot, but don’t let it hit the ground.” Adora blinked but did as she was told, and suddenly found herself wobbling considerably less. “Oh that’s stupid,” Catra growled. “They’re very heavy, they’re counterweights. Instead of just spreading the weight around properly it’s all in the edges. Who’s idea was this?” Catra scoffed and Adora winced as the cold suddenly snapped to attention.

“Apparently Hers,” Adora shook her head, “you’ve got Her attention. I- uh- don’t know if that’s a good thing.”

“Then tell her to put more into that weird skirt for me,” Catra snapped, “it’d help with your balance a lot.” Adora felt the frigid edge swell and something shifted, her balance thrown off slightly for just a moment.

“I think-” Adora bounced on her foot a couple times, looking down at herself, she didn’t see any changes to the outfit, but if she paid very close attention it felt like there was more weight in the golden band around her waist. “I think she listened to you.” Catra blinked, crooking an eyebrow as she circled her again.

“Stance up,” she said somewhat absentmindedly once she was in front of Adora again. Adora dropped into a ready stance, her feet planted wide to keep herself steady. Catra grimaced, “no, you’ve got a sword, not a shield. You need to be ready to avoid taking a hit.” Catra flicked at Adora’s knee, “tighter.” Adora frowned but obeyed, shifting her feet closer together. “How’s your balance?”

“Solid,” she shifted from side to side but didn’t feel her momentum keep heading in any direction like before.

“Good, now dodge.” Catra lunged, pouncing for Adora’s chest. Adora tried to twist the way she normally would have, leaning to the side and sliding a foot back along the ground, but her boot stuck in the dirt, leaving her to wobble dangerously instead. Catra hit and sent her sprawling backwards onto the ground.

Sitting on Adora’s chest, Catra gave her a distinctly unimpressed look. Adora gave her a sheepish smile back, but made no move to rise. “The boots are heavy, you’re gonna need to lift your feet if you wanna get anywhere,” Catra admonished her, climbing off and offering a hand to help her back up. Adora had to fight down a blush as she accepted it, brushing herself off as she stood. That had been a much nicer angle.

“Again?” Adora set her stance again, making sure to keep her stance tighter this time.

“Again,” Catra nodded, taking a couple steps back and charging her again.

This time Adora made sure to lift the foot first, shifting on one foot as Catra sailed past, and planting it again as soon as the motion was over, her balance only teetering for the split second before her foot hit the ground. Catra landed easily, a narrowed glance all the warning Adora got before she was launching herself again.

Adora yelped as she repeated the maneuver, teetering a little bit more this time but still able to keep her footing. They continued like this for a time, Adora spinning in circles as Catra kept coming at her from different angles. How cleanly she moved varied from attempt to attempt, but Catra didn’t seem to be trying very hard, so Adora was able to avoid them all more or less- though if Catra had been using her claws Adora was pretty sure she’d have a few new cuts along her forearms.

Catra huffed as she straightened herself out from the latest attempt. “It’s a start. How’s it feel?”

“Still a little wobbly,” Adora answered, “but I’m getting it.” Catra nodded at her.

“Okay, now you can start standing your ground.” Catra dropped into a ready stance again, baring her claws this time. “Pull the sword.”

“Are you sure?” Adora hesitated, “this thing can kind of go through whatever it wants.”

“Of course I’m sure,” Catra snapped, “get ready.”

Adora nodded and slung the sword off her back, holding it in both hands to make sure the flat of it was angled the way she’d need it. The last thing she needed was to accidentally sever one of Catra’s fingers.

Catra kept low this time, no lunges or leaps, she just started swiping, trusting Adora’s reflexes to keep the sword in place to block her strikes. Her claws made a strange sort of noise as they deflected off the flat of the blade, a sort of cross between sliding glass and the crackle of electricity.

They fell into an easy rhythm, Catra pushing and Adora holding her ground, feet still planted close in case she needed to maneuver, but she knew Catra’s patterns well enough that she was able to keep the sword where it needed to be for the next strike with ease. The cold edge tugged at something after a while, and the crackle turned sharp in the edge of Adora’s awareness. She blinked, feeling a well of energy suddenly burst open.

“Wait!” Adora shouted, trying to pull back before Catra could hit the sword. Her claw caught in the crossguard and sent it sweeping out to the side, the energy releasing in a wave that cleaved through the pasture’s fence and continued on until it hit one of the horses inside. Adora couldn’t help the horrified gasp as it did so, terrified she’d just killed the creature.

Instead of exploding or something, wild light ran riot around it for a moment before it disappeared under a white flash.

As the light cleared the horse was transformed, its brown coat had turned pure white, wings hung at its sides, the same prismatic colours as its mane and tail was now, and a long horn spiralled up from its forehead. 

Adora stared at the horse for a moment, dumbfounded. The horse stared back, then Adora felt a flash of panic at the same instant the horse began to thrash, wildly unbalanced by his new wings. He flapped up into the air, then came back down and hit the ground running. Adora blinked, trying to think through the haze of confusion and terror suddenly bearing down on her. She felt herself tensing, her teeth gritting.

“Huh,” some part of her that wasn’t drowning in panic heard Catra say. “Can we just ignore that, or is it an ‘us’ problem?”

The horse went sailing overhead, directly into the Whispering Woods.

“Horsey no!” Adora shouted, wheeling to follow almost before she was even entirely aware of what she was doing.

“Guess it’s an us problem.”

* * *

Catra actually liked the Whispering Woods. Was the place creepy? Of course. Did you have to keep close eye on whoever you were travelling with to avoid losing them? Yeah. But for some reason she took to it so naturally. Slipping between shadows, around the tangles of vines and trunks, it felt good. Not good enough to distract her from Adora’s continuing panic attack, but enough to keep her from getting swept up in it as well.

“You realize it’s just one horse, right?” She asked, trailing maybe a touch further back than she really should have been, but she had a feeling the Woods wouldn’t take advantage right at that moment. “They’ve got a ton of them.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one who lost this one!” Adora shouted back, continuing to scan the trees for any sign of the horse. “The Queen’s gonna kill me.” She cupped her hands over her mouth as she called, “Horsey!” Catra cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Angella, seriously?” She scoffed, “she’s harmless.” Privately, Catra still didn’t quite know what to think of Angella, but she had no real reason to think she was going to be Adora’s problem anytime soon. “She doesn’t even care that you guys disobeyed direct orders in Plumeria.” Adora stiffened, whirling around to Catra with even more panic plain on her face.

“She knows!?” She shouted, looking about an inch from pulling her hair out. It would be so easy to get swept up in her energy, but Catra just crossed her arms, keeping the eyebrow high.

“Duh. She’s an immortal queen, she’s been playing this game longer than anyone alive. If somebody told  _ you _ Plumeria fought back- forget won, just fought back at all- without someone else leading the way, would you believe them?” Adora flushed and looked away, her brow furrowing and her hand on the sword squeezing tight enough that her knuckles went white.

“She cared enough that you had to stay behind.” Catra kept herself from blinking, but it was a near thing, and she had to work to keep the growl out of her voice.

“That’s not the same thing, it was just damage control.” Catra kept her gaze level when Adora turned back to her, her mouth half open with some hastily put together reply. Then her mouth snapped shut and her lips quirked down, her eyes suddenly intense and piercing.

“You knew she wouldn’t believe us?”

“Well, yeah,” Catra shrugged, “like I said, immortal queen. She’s seen it all.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Adora groaned, “she already doesn’t trust us, lying to her is only going to make that worse.” Catra held back a disdainful scoff, as if the answer to that question wasn’t obvious.

“Like it would have made any difference.” She waved Adora off. “Besides, that’s what the damage control was about.”

“Of course it would have,” Adora insisted in that stupid tone she got when she was saying things she wanted to think were true but knew really weren’t, “you’re the brains of the operation, remember? You say jump, we say how high.” Catra put on her best unimpressed face, the myriad reasons that really wasn’t how it worked running through her head. She decided she didn’t have the time or the patience right now to get into it.

“Weren’t we looking for a horse?” Give Adora something physical to do and she lost track of what she was talking about easy. Though not as easy as usual this time if the way she kept puffing up like she wanted to say something was any indication.

“Yeah,” she begrudgingly admitted, straightening up and turning away. Catra kept her face neutral as she followed, but that was a new one. She watched the motion of Adora’s shoulders as they continued on, the tension in them had shifted. There was less panic, but now it was almost like something was simmering. Not fear anymore, given the set of her jaw, she almost looked angry.

Adora was dwelling on things a lot more the last few days. Or had she always done that and only now started to show it? Catra shook her head, In the end it hardly mattered which it was, at least she still knew when to drop a subject. Catra got back to a sort of idle mixture of admiring the tangled views of the Whispering Woods and watching for flashes of white or rainbow. 

The tension in Adora’s jaw steadily smoothed out as they searched, then came back as she narrowed her eyes at a fallen tree.

She jammed her sword down into it, leaving a deep gash in the wood. “We’ve passed this before.”

Catra blinked, looking around up at the canopy again. She could swear it had changed.

“You sure?” She eyed a vine suspiciously. 

“Very,” Adora pointed towards a nearby rock, “I kicked that rock earlier, and there’s another dead tree with a split trunk right over there, I remember thinking this one might have fallen off of it.” Catra glanced down at the rock, sure enough there was a scuff on the ground from it being tossed. She looked back up, watching for any sign of movement and gesturing for Adora to come closer. Catra wasn’t sure why the woods were giving them the runaround, but she didn’t want to have to choose between figuring it out and staying together.

Adora looked equally unsettled, clasping the sword in both hands and going deathly still.

Clanging suddenly sounded from somewhere past the fallen tree, making the both of them jump in their haste to face the potential threat. Catra already had her claws out and teeth bared before she noticed Adora had thrown an arm out to shield her.

Adora turned to glance down at her, “stay behind me.” Catra had to fight down the urge to roll her eyes, instead just stepping forward to stand beside her. Adora’s shoulders rose but again she didn’t say anything, just lowering her arm and moving towards the direction the sound had come from with the sword raised.

To say Catra wasn’t sure what they found would have been a wild oversimplification. She knew exactly what she was looking at, some sort of strange hut built into the roots of a tree. The thing she was having trouble with was  _ why _ it was there at all. From the angle of the shadows they were pretty deep into the woods, so this would be ridiculously isolated on a good day, and the trees moved on a bad one. In what was becoming a distressing habit, Catra found herself wondering who on Etheria designed this.

As if in answer to her question, someone came shuffling out of the curtain over the entrance. Stooped but surprisingly sure of her movements, the old woman brushed at the dirt in front of her home with a gnarled broom. Catra made a face, this woman looked like what would happen if someone decided to personify the word ‘musty’. She even had a small swarm of insects flitting around her like she was stuffed with the opposite of bug repellent. From the look of her ragged hair and dress she might as well be.

The woman who may as well have been a pile of pink cloth scraps and tin-looking bangles muttered something to herself before looking up, dark but surprisingly keen eyes locking first on Adora, then Catra, from behind her enormous spectacles.

“Interesting,” she said in a voice that creaked the way it looked like her joints should have been doing.

“We- uh- didn’t mean to intrude.” Adora shook out of her stupor first, drawing the crone’s attention as Catra was busy trying to wrap her head around what was happening with those bugs. After the first glance they seemed to almost be flickering in and out of existence with each beat of their wings, vanishing into thin air and then popping out from behind the woman at odd angles. “Have you seen a flying horse? I lost him.”

“Oh,” the woman seemed to jolt out of her thoughts, “Mara, deary, is that you?” She adjusted her glasses, her expression shifting to puzzled. “You’re very late, yes, much later than last time.” Those sharp eyes flicked to Catra and her face lit up in a crooked grin, “but you brought Hope as well! Well worth the wait, that must have been tricky. I keep telling her she needs to get you out more often, Hope. It must get stuffy in there all alone.” She turned back towards the house as Catra blinked at her, “if I’d known you were coming along I would have straightened up, I know how much you like things in order, Hope.” She made a considering sort of noise. “Come now, no time to waste. We need to get going.”

Catra and Adora shared a look as the woman shuffled back into her home. Adora shrugged and shook her head slightly, Catra glanced to the hut, eyes narrowed. If Adora didn’t know who this was they’d have to keep a close watch, but she seemed harmless enough. More interesting than trying to find the stupid horse, anyways. Catra nodded and they approached, Adora shifting back to normal so she could fit through the doorway.

“You were waiting for us?” Adora asked as she brushed the curtain aside, revealing the inside of the hut. The woman hadn’t been kidding, the place was a mess. Random baubles and jars scattered in seemingly random places over pretty much every surface, oddly placed rugs criss-crossing on the floor. There was some kind of enormous skull nestled into a corner with a potted plant on top of it, and another skull on a shelf above it, neither of which did wonders for Catra’s nerves.

“We made plans to go berry picking the other day,” the woman laughed, hopping down from one of the shelves with a basket under her arm. “You never showed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t go today.” Adora shifted uncomfortably.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I think you’ve mistaken us for someone else. I don’t know who you are.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as she started piling even more seemingly random objects into her basket.

“No, you don’t know Madame Razz, do you? You’re not quite the same.” Those sharp eyes dulled for a moment as she pulled a Horde helmet seemingly out of thin air and Catra couldn’t help the way her tail lashed in surprise. “This is the wrong time for my Mara and her Hope, isn’t it?” She stuffed the helm into her basket and it seemed to vanish again, her eyes keen again in a blink. “Now you’ve got the sword instead.”

Adora blinked, but Catra’s eyes were focused on Razz’ hands, trying to track where she was pulling these things from. “It’s rude to stare,” Razz admonished, not looking up from what she was doing. Catra blinked and suddenly there was a second basket, both of them empty.

“Wait, what?” Adora snapped, though to which part of this Catra couldn’t say.

“Ha, well, nevermind,” Razz laughed, quick and sharp, sliding the first basket onto Adora’s sword. “You’re here now, and there’s still berries to be picked. I’d get you a basket too, Hope, but I know how you are about carrying things.” Catra couldn’t help grinning at that while Adora quietly sputtered at the basket.

“I do like not having to carry things.” She threw Adora a smirk as Razz headed out of the hut, the glance Adora threw back her way would have been withering if she wasn’t still so obviously baffled by all of this. Catra turned on her heel to follow Razz, Adora falling into step beside her after just a moment longer.

“I don’t even know where to start with this,” Adora murmured to Catra after a moment longer. “She’s kind of just doing whatever.”

“She’s a crazy old woman who lives in the Whispering Woods,” Catra shrugged back. “There’s nowhere to start. The woods like her, and if we’re lucky she’ll lead us to your horse on accident.”

“I guess,” Adora muttered, glancing down, “but what was that about the sword? She knows something.” She blinked, “and what do you mean the woods like her?”

“Look,” Catra gestured towards Razz, the path she was on had some sizeable roots across it that they’d have to climb over, but it was the closest to a straight line Catra had seen in these woods yet. “I don’t think they do that for just anyone. As for the sword, ask her, she doesn’t seem like the type who can keep a secret on purpose.” Which Catra added to the list of things that were both entertaining about Razz and surefire signs that she wasn’t to be trusted any more than a bot with a faulty targeting system.

“I guess,” Adora muttered before raising her voice to make sure Razz could hear. “Hey, uh, you said something about the sword. Have you seen it before?”

“Don’t ask silly questions, Mara.” Razz waved her off, “You know you bring that sword around here all the time.” Catra had to contain a chuckle at the indignant look on Adora’s face. Stonewalled again.

“I’m not- okay.” Adora took a deep breath, “how long have you been living out here in the woods alone?”

Razz stopped rather suddenly, turning back to them.

“Alone? Me?” She blinked owlishly at Adora before a mischievous grin split her face, “oh no, I’m not alone. I’ve got Broom here, and my friend Loo-Kee, too.” She leaned forward conspiratorially as she whispered, “but he’s always hiding.”

Catra only managed to wait until Razz turned back around to start laughing under her breath. Adora’s chuckle was much more nervous.

“Oh, good, she’s got imaginary friends.” She glanced over at Catra, “how are you so calm about this?”

“Really?” Catra raised an eyebrow at her, “she’s nuts, but you just transmogrified a horse and we’re trying to keep your sword from piloting you around, our lives have already gotten so weird that this might as well happen. Besides, there’s nothing in this forest we can’t take.” She brushed aside a hanging plant, “at least Razz is harm... less…”

Whatever that was, it certainly didn’t look harmless. Towering over the clearing was some kind of crystal spire, all sharp angles and looming shadows, half-swallowed by vines and what looked like roots, but not a single tree seemed to want to grow too close to it. In a forest where the trees could move, that was almost certainly not a good sign. “I take it back, I don’t like this place.”

“Whoa,” Adora breathed, stepping forward.

“Here we are,” Razz chirped happily, having somehow ended up behind them and making Catra nearly jump out of her skin. As she stepped out into the clearing, Adora followed, looking around like she was in a daze.

“I think I’ve seen a place like this before,” Adora murmured, glancing at the tower and the smaller, jagged structures coming up to either side of it. “This is a First Ones ruin, isn’t it?” Catra slunk closer, eyes scanning across the looming, unfriendly structures.

“And the best place to pick fresh berries!” Razz shouted. Catra and Adora both blinked, looking up, somehow between the space of blinks she’d managed to scale halfway up the main spire, hopping from hold to hold like it was nothing. Catra glanced down at her own claws, she’d probably have been able to make it up there without much trouble, but that fast?

“Hey, be-” Catra shoved Adora to stop her talking. “What?”

“She knows what she’s doing.” Catra murmured, watching how each spot Razz touched began to glow in her wake, the structure slowly coming alive with lights.

“Does she?”

“Probably,” Catra shrugged. “Besides, she’s not really our problem.” Suddenly the entire spire lit up in a blinding flash that had Catra shielding her eyes. Adora was moving almost before the sound of Razz’ shout reached them, brushing past Catra and leaping to catch her.

By the time Catra rubbed the spots from her vision Razz had already climbed off of Adora.

“Oh deary me. That was quite a tumble, eh?” She cackled to herself, Adora threw a distinctly unimpressed glare at both her and Catra.

“Okay,” Catra shrugged, “maybe she doesn’t.” If Catra didn’t know better, she’d say Razz’ grin was a little too saccharine. Catra shrugged it off and glanced around the clearing again.

The overgrown structures were all sheathed in light, forming a phantom temple. The eroded edges looking even sharper in the light. Adora gasped and Catra whirled to face her, but her eyes were locked on the sky. Catra followed her gaze and froze.

Spread across the sky, like it had opened up a thousand eyes, bright points of light filtered down through a pink lense. She shifted close to Adora, staying as still as she could, suddenly feeling very small as Adora breathed out a word cloaked in awe.

“Stars?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The picture I kept going back to for reference for the opening scene.  
> https://artofkace.tumblr.com/post/187653459518/just-live-in-this-moment


	12. Exactly As You Should

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora chases a feeling.  
> Catra nearly loses everything.  
> Angella recognizes a girl in crisis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: graphic violence, contemplation of self-harm, mild self-harm via over-stimulation
> 
> EDIT: I know it says no editors up there, but if it's me I don't think it counts. I wasn't too happy with how Catra's section of this chapter turned out even though I very much wanted to be, so I've given it a few quality of life changes to hopefully make it give off the feeling I wanted it to.

Adora didn’t know where she’d heard that word, ‘stars,’ she only knew that was what she was looking at, scattered across the sky above them. She felt her hand grip the sword tighter, a stab of freezing cold shooting up her arm from it alongside a flash of something. Something equal parts alien and familiar; a feeling of warmth, safety, certainty, but far away, somewhere _other._

“Oh,” Razz’s voice pulled her out of the trance, leaving Adora blinking hard to try and regain her senses. “We used to come here to look at the stars.” Adora’s free hand found one of Catra’s and she grasped it like a lifeline. Catra hissed through her teeth and Adora forced her grip to relax a little, still unable to tear her eyes away from the stars.

Razz kept going, either uncaring or oblivious to her distress. “Do you remember, Mara? They’re all gone, now." Her voice lowered to almost a whisper, "what happened to the stars?”

“Shut up,” Catra snapped at Razz, her other hand settling on Adora’s shoulder. “Hey, you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.” That feeling of certainty settled into a shape Adora could force out of her mouth and she took in a sharp breath.

“I’ve seen them before. I-I know all of this.” She forced herself to look away from the sky, meeting Catra’s wide-eyed, worried stare. “Somehow.” Another stab of cold up her arm and images flashed through her head. A window, overlooking something she couldn’t even begin to describe, a laugh, small and vulnerable but _safe_ in a way Adora couldn’t remember ever actually feeling outside of this moment she was being shown.

She grit her teeth and blinked away the image.

“Adora, what’s happening?” There was a strain under Catra’s voice now and she had to remind herself to loosen her grip again before she crushed Catra’s fingers. “Stay with me, is it Her?” Adora thought about the cold running up her arm into her brain but shook her head, this didn’t feel like when She-Ra took over, it was something else.

“I don’t know, but I think I know who does.” She was getting desperate, but Razz had led them to this place, she knew what stars were, she knew about the sword, she had to know _something_ useful _._ She lifted her other hand to point but found she still had the sword in a death grip, strong enough that veins were popping on the back of her hand. She lowered it before anyone could tell how much it hurt to hold the sword that tightly. “What’s happening to me?” She demanded. “You brought us here for a reason! If you know something about the sword, about me, tell me.” Her next breath shuddered through her chest and Adora felt claws prick at her shoulder for a moment. She was scaring Catra, she needed to calm down. She closed her eyes and forced her breathing to steady. Calm down, calm.

When she opened her eyes again, Razz was staring at her curiously, eyes sharp behind her spectacles before they lit up with a smile.

“I brought you here to pick berries, and your basket is still empty, so come along, silly.” She turned jauntily and waved for them to follow. “So high strung, isn’t she, Hope?” Catra no longer looked amused by Razz’ antics, her teeth bared in a silent growl.

“We should go back,” Catra insisted, though she didn’t move, just holding onto Adora’s left side like she might tip over if she stopped. Adora shook her head.

“No, we've come this far.” She glanced over and Catra was watching her with piercing, skeptical eyes. “We haven’t found Horsey?” Adora offered lamely, trying to wipe some of the intensity off her own face.

“What’s this really about?” Catra demanded. She wasn’t fooling anybody.

“When-” Adora’s voice stopped for a moment as she tried to force her jumbled thoughts into something coherent. “When I first touched the Sword it showed me something- some _where_ else.” She took a deep breath. “I know that place, I don’t know how, but I do. It’s- it felt like… home.” She felt her hand on the sword finally relax a little, she was probably going to have an imprint of the grooves on the handle in her palm for the rest of the week. “Someone knows something about that place. She-Ra doesn’t talk to me- not with words, anyways- but Razz knows stars, she knows the sword, maybe she knows…” She trailed off, this sounded stupid out loud.

“Where you came from.” Catra finished for her with a sigh. “Fine, but I reserve the right to claw her eyes out if she tries anything funny.”

“Does answering questions by just adding more count?” Adora asked with a mirthless chuckle.

“No, if it did we’d never get anything out of the old coot.” Catra took her hands away and kept moving after Razz. She wasn’t happy about this. Adora felt a twinge in her gut at that, but she steeled herself to follow.

The forest seemed to have turned on her specifically, almost every step tangling her feet in roots and creepers that she would have sworn weren’t there before. Razz and Catra were able to keep far enough ahead of her that she had to shout to make herself heard.

“Wait! Will you slow down?” Catra glanced back, her pupils flicking narrower as she glared at the branches surrounding Adora.

“Eh, what’s that, dearie?” Razz called back, but still stopped moving for a moment. “You’ll have to speak up, I don’t have my glasses.” Adora blinked and suddenly she could see a path through the tangled plant-life. She scrambled through it to catch up.

“I know you can hear me. I just- you’re the only lead I’ve got right now. I need you to tell me where to go.” She ducked underneath a branch, the forest closing slightly around her again. Razz let out a quick laugh.

“How would Madame Razz know where you need to go?” She pushed through a bush and vanished from sight.

“She’s got a point, you know.” Catra drawled, not looking directly at Adora. “There’s no guarantee she knows anything. She calls me Hope, for Hordak’s sake. What kind of name is that?” Adora felt her expression sour with annoyance for a moment before she suddenly recognized something.

“Wait, Hope…” She pushed through the brush, “Razz! Hope, as in Light-” her voice died in her throat. Stretching out in front of them the forest just stopped, a jagged scar on the world stretching out to the horizon beyond it. Scattered, abandoned Horde machines and ragged stumps the only thing breaking the monotony of desolate earth.

It made sense, in Adora’s head, that the Horde would be trying to break through the Whispering Woods. It was an obvious, hostile roadblock to their goals, but seeing them doing it was different. The same sort of different as seeing the raid on Thaymore had been. It was the magnitude, how unnecessary this kind of force was. Clearing a path would have worked just as well, they didn’t need to raze the whole thing to the ground like this. She shivered, struck again by the thought that they would have had her doing this if she’d stayed.

She felt more than heard Catra step closer behind her and let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“It’s the same old story, dearie.” Razz sighed, drawing Adora’s eyes back to her. “Wicked people destroy what they cannot control.” Adora felt a flash of anger that felt like it came as much from her as it did from She-Ra.

“They can’t just do this,” she growled.

“Once, the Princesses would have protected us,” Razz continued, stepping forward and running a hand over a stump. “But these days, they-” she sighed, her eyes suddenly clouded as she leaned on her broom. “They stay in their castles, protecting only their own lands. Meanwhile, the Horde draws ever closer.”

Her eyes brightened again as she glanced up to meet Adora’s. “You’re very like my Mara, you know?” She hummed to herself, her eyes flicking to Catra for a moment. “Brave, loyal, but even when you’re certain you’re scared.” Adora turned away, a lump gathering in her throat.

“I’m not afraid,” even she had to admit that came out a little too fast, too quiet.

“Dearie,” Razz chuckled, “you ran into the woods and asked the first old lady you could find where you should go.” She shook her head slightly, stepping forward. “Not even which way is out. No one is going to make this easy for you, dearie, though someone is certainly going to try her best.” She cast a look over her shoulder at Catra and winked. Catra turned up her nose, her ears turning down, embarrassed.

Razz chuckled, “don’t wait for someone to lay the path out for you. You’re a smart girl. What do you think?”

Adora felt her brow furrow, there had been only one thing really on her mind since she’d stepped out into this place.

“I think… this is wrong.” Her expression hardened and her grip on the sword began to sting again. Wherever she came from, it wasn’t going anywhere. Right now there was a whole world of things that were being stomped out. She could sort out herself after.

A sharp whinney broke through the air, frightened and familiar. Adora’s grip on the sword settled, firm but no longer painful. “Horsey.” Razz made a confused noise at the same moment Catra huffed like she really should have seen this coming. They followed Adora out as she marched towards the noise.

Down at the bottom of a pit, Adora saw a group of soldiers in Horde uniforms capture Horsey, something in her twitching with wrongness at the sight. He shouldn’t be bound down or caged, not now and not ever. Her expression darkened and she raised the sword, only for someone to grab her wrist and force it back down.

“Adora,” Catra hissed, her narrowed eyes shifting between the Horde encampment below and Adora’s face. “Think about this for a second. I know Razz just called you smart and gave you some stupid mystic responsibility speech, but look. That’s a full platoon down there, with tanks, cannons, and that,” she pointed at the heavily furred man in a Force Captain’s colours, “is Force Captain Grizzlor.” Adora blinked, looking back down to watch him. “Do you have a plan besides ‘smash stuff’?”

“Horsey flies now,” she pointed out, gesturing to the bound-down horse still sending little jolts of anger up her spine. “We just need to get him and we can ride him out of there.”

“Yeah, cause horses on the ground love me so much already.” Catra rolled her eyes, “we need reinforcements. At least let us go back and get Glimmer so she can teleport us out if things go sideways.” Adora blinked, her mind clearing a little. Catra had a point, but the Whispering Woods were a maze on a good day. Judging by the moons it had taken them near an hour to get out this far, it would probably take them even longer to get back to Bright Moon, and longer still to organize and move a force of any size through the forest to get here again. Who knew what could happen in the meantime.

She narrowed her eyes at Grizzlor, he in particular didn’t look like he cared much if Horsey lived or died.

“That’s not fast enough,” she insisted.

“It’s gonna have to be,” Catra shot back, “‘cause we can’t win this one alone.” Adora yanked her arm out of Catra’s grip. She had to at least try.

“You go get them then,” she challenged. “If it’s fast enough for Horsey, it’s fast enough for me.” Catra’s expression went blank, her hands balled into fists. Adora nodded firmly at her and raised the sword again, chanting the words as her world exploded in light.

The cold still sat at the back of her mind, but this time it was the warm side of She-Ra’s power that snapped to attention, more like a loyal soldier eager to obey than the cold’s domineering pressure. She took hold of it as she leapt down from her perch, the ground shuddering beneath her as she landed among the soldiers. A wave of force blossomed out from where she landed to knock them off balance, giving her the opening she needed to yank the net off of Horsey, letting him take to the sky in a flurry of wings and surprise.

She stood tall, glaring down Grizzlor, “turn off your machines and leave this place, now!” She demanded, flourishing the sword. The soldiers stood stunned for a moment, glancing between each other like they were sizing up who should go first, if anyone. There was a moment Adora felt fairly confident they would turn tail and run, but then Grizzlor snapped out of it, grabbing someone by the shoulder and shoving them forwards.

“It’s the princess!” He shouted, “get her!”

Adora had just enough time to hear Catra groan in frustration from above before the soldiers started rushing forwards.

She planted her feet, close together, just the way they’d practiced, and pulled back to swing the sword. She hesitated for half a breath, shifting the sword in her hands so she’d be hitting with the flat of her blade. She still didn’t want to outright kill any of them.

Her hesitation made the swing a bit awkward, but with She-Ra’s power behind it that didn’t end up mattering much, the ground in front of her splintered and shoved up to knock away the soldiers as it rushed out of her, hot and almost playful. The rest stopped for a moment, a group of them at the back changing their batons to the ranged configuration while the rest took to circling her more cautiously.

Catra fell on the group in the back like a hurricane, her expression grim as her claws made short work of exploiting the weak points of their armour, forcing them to drop their weapons as she slashed ragged, bleeding lines into their arms or dropped low to trip them up. Adora couldn’t help the grin that started to stretch across her face. In a way, this is what they had been training for their whole lives, taking the fight to the bad guys. It felt good to know Catra was with her in this moment.

Adora leapt up onto one of the machines, effortlessly cleaving the claw of it off and tossing it onto another one with a grunt, destroying them both. Jumping back down she saw Catra weaving between soldiers, too fast for anyone to touch, keeping them well distracted while she focused on destroying the machines.

Glancing up she saw another with its claw wrapped around one of the few remaining trees in the area and let warm impulse take her, tossing the sword like a dart up at it. The blade sunk deep into the machine and pulsed with energy, the internal mechanisms of the machine blasting out the other side of it. Adora almost allowed herself a smile at the sight but kept her gaze stern, turning back to glare Grizzlor down.

He gaped at her, his nerve obviously buckling as he scrambled back to the building in the center of the gorge, opening the door to reveal a few more soldiers. These ones had evidently gone for the more heavy duty equipment when things started getting chaotic, their armour heavier, wielding shields alongside heavy batons. She braced herself and felt the warmth respond again, flowing through her limbs to bolster her strength.

She shoved forward as they charged at her, grabbing the first to reach her’s shield at the bottom and yanking it up with one hand, the other shoving against their torso and sending them flying away.

The second to reach her managed to get off a swing, Adora brought up the bracers on her forearms to block it and surged forward, breaking up through the strike and driving her forehead down into their helmet. They crumpled to the ground.

Four more surrounded her at once, ready to rush her, when Catra landed behind one of them, driving her claws into their armoured collar and yanking them into the one next to them as she passed. Adora beamed at her, but Catra just glared back. She was still mad at her. Adora schooled her own expression back down, she could work with that.

The two of them were still a force to be reckoned with, Catra darting around her to claw her way through the center of any coordinated charge, scattering them while Adora pushed through behind her like a wrecking ball, cleaning up the reeling soldiers with solid strikes of her armoured hands.

“She-Ra!” Razz’s voice called from somewhere off the sidelines and Adora looked up just in time to catch the sword. She didn’t have time for more than a nod as another group charged them. She spun to slam the sword down against one’s shield, sending them reeling to the ground with a harsh crack. Catra took advantage of their balance practice earlier to jump up onto Adora’s shoulders, shoving off again to tackle her way over another soldier’s shield and slam them headfirst into the ground.

Another let out a panicked battle cry from behind her and Adora just sidestepped, bringing the flat of the blade up right as they passed, clocking them across the helmet with it like they’d just run headfirst into a brick wall. She glanced up into a sight that was probably as bizarre to be a part of as it was to see.

Razz was smacking a dumbfounded looking soldier in the face with her broom, “take that, you great lump!” She shouted, repeatedly and ineffectively swinging her broom at them. “Razzle Dazzle!”

“Razz, no! You can’t be here!” Adora protested, taking a step forward.

“I dunno,” Catra growled sarcastically, smacking two soldiers she had by the helmets together and letting them slump. “Looks like she’s got one of ‘em locked down.”

Razz glanced back towards them and the soldier apparently decided they’d had enough of being treated like a particularly annoying spider, raising their baton when Horsey came winging back in out of the sky, landing on the soldier and giving them a good stomp before swooping back up into the sky. Razz cheered and the battle stopped for a moment as the Horde tried to gather itself from their assault.

Adora felt a grin tugging at her face, watching Horsey settle back into circling above. The sound of hydraulics pushing brought her back to the moment and she glanced back down to spot Grizzlor on top of an Encampment Turret, the cannon whining as it charged up to fire.

She growled and leapt for it, driving the sword down through the barrel easy as anything, leaving it to sputter and fizzle out. Grizzlor hadn’t struck her as the sort to stand his ground by this point, so she stood in front of the destroyed machine and stared him down again. He snarled and slammed a fist down into it, the cannon sparking back to life for an instant as it discharged.

There was a flash of green, a feeling like someone had dropped a building on her chest, a scream, and everything went dark.

* * *

“Adora!” Catra screamed at the same moment the crack of the cannon sounded, blasting Adora halfway across the gorge to land in a smoking heap.

For a moment, Catra knew nothing. Her body kept moving, but it felt like her mind had ground to a halt, the smoke billowing off of Adora clouding her vision even when she looked away, launching herself at Grizzlor with intent to tear his throat out. That _stupid_ horse swooped in ahead of her, knocking Grizzlor to the ground before she could get her claws on him.

It didn’t matter, not really, nothing mattered but the next moments as she wheeled on him. It didn’t matter that he was calling for help, didn’t matter that his hands came away bloodied and torn as he tried to shove her off him, leaving the harsh, metallic tang of blood in her mouth. She felt a claw catch against his jaw and he screamed as she dragged her hand up his face, leaving ragged furrows through his skin deep enough she could see the slick white of his bones beneath it and it wasn’t enough. Somewhere floating above it all she was aware she was howling at him, wordless and furious.

As she pulled back her hands to find new places to tear at him he managed to get a foot under her, shoving her away with enough panic-fueled strength to take her off her feet, sailing back through the air. As she landed in a crouch she saw soldiers coming in to put themselves between her and their injured Captain. She bared her bloodied fangs, ready to fight her way back to him, nothing mattered but making him _pay._

Then a sound, so soft she wouldn’t have heard it if anyone had been brave enough to make a move on her. Adora groaned.

Her ears flicked and the world became real again. There was blood matting in her fur and coarse hairs in her teeth. Grizzlor was whimpering, holding a ruined hand against his equally ruined face as he shoved himself away from her on his back, terrified. The soldiers between him and her were trembling in their armour at the sight of her.

“Hope!” Razz’s voice cut through the air and she turned back towards where Adora had landed, half terrified of what she might see but needing to know. She was still She-Ra, though the glow around her flickered and guttered like a dying flashlight. She was in one piece, no hole through her, not even a scorch mark where the blast had landed.

Razz was kneeling beside Adora, holding her head up with one hand while the other fished around in some hidden pocket of her dress. She threw Catra an urgent look that she was only half-aware of. She was already running towards them, a flash of her claws enough to dissuade anyone from getting in her way. She managed to get close before Razz shouted something and the world was swallowed in a purplish haze.

Catra reached out, desperation clawing at her insides as she took a handful of the thick cloth of She-Ra’s cape, pulling herself closer until she could hear Adora’s unsteady breathing. Long, gnarled fingers yanked at her as the cloud was shoved away by wind off of rainbow feathers. The horse had come back to help them escape. She blinked at it a second before Razz yanked again and she got the hint, shoving Adora’s unconscious body up onto the horse’s back.

She half-expected the horse to just take off without them, but it gave Catra a surprisingly pointed look and nodded to her as Razz climbed on in front of Adora. She was beginning to see silhouettes of the soldiers through the smoke. Someone needed to make sure Adora didn’t fall off anyway, she thought to herself as she clambered up, wrapping her arms tight around Adora and holding on for dear life as the horse’s wings flapped again, swooping them up out of the base.

“Why couldn’t you have figured that out before they grabbed you?” Catra grumbled to herself, pressing the side of her head to Adora’s back to listen to her heart beat. She closed her eyes, taking in the sound of Adora’s breaths coming short and halting. She was hurt, but somehow she was here and alive and not decorating the walls of the gorge down there. Catra clung to that almost as tight as she clung to Adora while the horse took them back down into the woods.

Almost as soon as they landed Adora’s entire body flashed and Catra had to quickly adjust her grip to keep the suddenly smaller girl from falling off the horse. Adora groaned and coughed, her face twisting in pain for a moment and Catra’s resolve hardened. “Why are we stopping?” She snapped, “she needs a medic, we need to get back to Bright Moon.”

“Don’t worry, Hope,” Razz tittered, hopping down off the horse’s back. “We’re near my home, there’s plenty to make sure she’s alright.” She waved to the horse, “come along, Swift Wind.” It started after her, somehow moving less smoothly on the ground than it had in the air. Catra growled to herself and carefully adjusted her grip to keep from putting too much pressure on Adora’s ribs where she took the hit.

“Anything you have here is probably just as good as what they have at Bright Moon, anyways.” Catra huffed, blinking a little when Razz’ cottage appeared as soon as they turned the corner. She glanced around before huffing again; right, Whispering Woods, she couldn’t trust her sense of direction.

“Eh,” Razz shrugged, “I’d hope it’s better, dearie. I’ve been at this a lot longer than they have.” She vanished through the curtain, leaving Catra to climb down and carefully pull Adora off of the horse.

She threw it a caustic glance as she knelt down, letting Adora rest against her chest as she carefully pressed at the sides of Adora’s ribs, trying to get some idea of the scope of the damage. Adora didn’t wake, but she hissed through her teeth at a couple of the spots Catra pressed on.

Nothing was shifting like it was outright broken under her fingers, so it was either cracks or just bruising. Better than she should have come out of taking _heavy ordinance_ point blank with, but still worse than Catra would have liked. 

She took a deep breath and let her arms settle around Adora’s stomach, pulling her closer so Catra could bury her face in Adora’s hair.

Shadow Weaver was going to kill her for letting this happen.

She felt herself go very still for a moment before she closed her eyes, grit her teeth and took another deep breath. No, Shadow Weaver was going to kill Grizzlor for this, she would make sure of it.

When she opened her eyes, it was only the fact that she didn’t want to jostle Adora that kept her from jumping. Madame Razz was crouched maybe three inches from her face. She bared her teeth before she could think about it.

Razz hummed and offered a small bowl of something murky and green. “You have the look again, Hope. She’ll notice.” She nodded at Adora and Catra couldn’t help blinking, loosening her grip a little. Razz reached out to take Adora by the chin and it took all the self control Catra had in her body not to bury her claws in the crone’s wrist for that.

“What look?” Catra cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice level. Razz tilted Adora’s head back and gently tipped the thin liquid from the bowl into her mouth. Adora stirred for a moment and swallowed, but still didn’t wake.

“The one you get when you think about the mission. The one you won’t tell her about.” Catra’s tail froze, but she kept her face blank, watching Razz intently. Razz sighed, leaning on her broom again, “you really should tell her, Hope dearie. It only gets harder the longer you wait.” Razz’ eyes were sharp again, piercing into Catra like daggers and shooting a panic up her spine. She knew. She knew something, more than she was saying at any rate, and what she was saying was already enough to get Catra killed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she growled, shifting her grip on Adora so she could stand with her. “We’re leaving.” Razz blinked.

“But Mara’s not healed yet,” she protested.

“She’ll get there,” Catra snapped back, shoving down on the part of her that wanted to be stopped dead by the idea of making things harder on Adora right now. “You wanna help? Make sure the woods don’t get in my way.” Razz’ expression twitched, whether it was conflicted or confused Catra couldn’t tell and didn’t care.

She turned away with a huff, pulling one of Adora’s arms over her shoulder to help support her, and started walking. The horse stepped in front of her for a second, but all it took was baring her teeth to get it to back off and let her pass.

Her mind raced as she carried Adora through the forest. This really was a bad idea, but she couldn’t let Adora wake up to whatever Razz was going on about. If she got lucky, they’d never see her or that stupid horse again. There was still that part of her that was practically throwing a fit in her chest about moving Adora when she still wasn’t healed but she shook it off with each unsteady step.

At some point she calmed down enough that she remembered she was still covered in Grizzlor’s blood. It had gone crusty and was making her fur tug at her unpleasantly while she moved. She’d probably left smears of it all over Adora, too.

She huffed to herself and kept walking. It was too late to turn back, and stopping somewhere else in the Whispering Woods was just asking to be attacked by something. Not that what she was doing was much better in that department, but still. She’d have to get the two of them cleaned up when she got back to Bright Moon.

When she finally emerged from the Whispering Woods back into the shadow of Bright Moon she could feel herself panting but didn’t bother with how long it had taken her to make it. She just needed to get Adora to an actual doctor and then she could go get this blood out of her fur and lay down somewhere.

They must have been a sight, stumbling up the steps, Adora half awake against Catra’s shoulder, and Catra’s orange fur tinted nearly black with dried blood. It was enough that the first guard they saw nearly dropped their weird staff-spear thing at any rate.

If Catra had been in a better mood she would have laughed at them. Instead she adjusted her grip on Adora again and growled out, “it’s not ours, just get a medic.” They nodded and scurried off.

Catra let the effort of dragging roughly six feet of muscle for who knew how long finally catch up to her, exhaustion dragging her down as she found a wall to slump down against, gently setting Adora down beside her.

Once she was sure Adora wasn’t about to fall over she glanced down at her hands, somehow unable to find the energy to scowl at the fact she’d probably be picking flecks of blood out of her claws for days.

Her mind just kept circling around the fact that even if she was alright this time, things could have gone so much worse. That moment when she’d been so certain Adora had just gotten a hole blown through her had been beyond anything, she didn’t even know how far she would have taken it, how much more blood she would have returned covered in with that hanging over her head. That was never happening again, she refused to let that happen again.

But it had been such an Adora moment; stepping in when there were clearly better ways of going about it, thinking the half-measure would be enough and having it blow up in her face. How was she supposed to stop her from getting into another situation like that? It was clear she wouldn’t just listen.

She let out a sigh that had been supposed to be another huff and drew up her legs, hugging her knees and just staring listlessly at the other wall. She was supposed to keep Adora from getting herself killed, that was the point of all of this, and she couldn’t even do that.

The warbling flash of Glimmer’s teleportation caught her attention and she glanced up to find Glimmer staring at them open-mouthed and horrified.

“Glimmer, wait up,” Bow called after her, stumbling around the corner before going silent with a choked off yelp.

“What- what happened?” Glimmer breathed, taking a step closer but backing off when Catra narrowed her eyes at her. Catra debated for a moment how much she could put into speaking before she exploded at someone and settled on ‘not a lot’ as she watched tears start gathering in Glimmer’s eyes and Bow lift his hands to his mouth.

“Horde’s in the woods,” she growled, squeezing herself a bit tighter, “blood’s not ours.” She paused for a second, “you guys are down a horse.” Glimmer took in a sharp breath, balling her hands into fists before she stepped closer again, crouching down to look Catra in the eye.

“I can teleport you guys to the infirmary, if that’s alright.” She was being so cautious with them, but then Catra supposed she wasn’t exactly the most welcoming face right now.

“Adora’s hurt,” she nodded towards her, “get her there. I just need a shower.” She huffed out a flat chuckle, turning back to the wall, “and a nap.”

“I-” Glimmer started, but she didn’t press any further, hesitating a moment before vanishing in another shower of sparks, the sudden influx of cold against Catra’s side letting her know she took Adora with her. Catra took a deep breath, gathering herself to scream now that she didn’t have to worry about waking her.

“Hey,” Bow’s soft voice caught her attention, forcing her to stamp down on the confused mix of anger and panic trying to force its way out of her. She flicked her eyes towards him, he’d come closer and was now standing awkwardly over her, looking even more uncomfortable than she felt about the whole situation. “Are you okay?”

“Am I… okay?” She said slowly, indignation catching the volatile cocktail of emotions in her chest on fire as she uncurled, feeling her face twist with rage. She pressed a hand to the wall as she stood, her claws sinking into the stone without her thinking about it. “I just saw my best friend step in front of a cannon because _she,”_ Catra snarled, dragging her claws down the wall for the casual catharsis of it, “decided some _stupid_ horse was too important to risk an hour running for help.”

Bow raised his hands defensively and leaned away from her as she moved closer, snarling at him and shouting. “How do you _think_ I am!?”

“Fair,” he squeaked, blinking at her, “how about-”

“How about you leave!” She roared in his face, her claws bared and itching as he scrambled back. Some look passed across his face, a familiar one she’d only ever seen on Adora before, he was wondering if she meant it. She kept glowering at him and after a moment longer he swallowed.

“Alright,” he took another step back and Catra thought it probably shouldn’t have felt as good as it had to scream at him. By the time he turned the corner with a last lingering look back she had to force herself to keep snarling through it, and there was a heavy feeling settled in her gut.

She shouldn’t have done that. These people were like Adora, they really did just want to help. She shook her head, she wasn’t about to apologize, though. Not right now. She glanced down at her hands again and grimaced. She really did need to get cleaned up.

She didn’t bother sneaking on her way back to Adora’s room. She was a mess, and the more people knew that the less likely she was to be disturbed. She attracted a couple stares, but no one said anything or moved to stop her and by the time she closed the door behind herself she found she just felt kind of burnt out and gross, the anger and fear having lost their hold on her at some point.

She sighed, glancing over at the waterfall. She could, but there were soaps in the bathroom, and what she really needed was a good scrubbing, not a spite-fueled rinse.

She pulled a disgusted face at her clothes once she had them off, she’d need to replace those. There was no way that was coming out cleanly.

Once she climbed into the shower she sort of just stood there for a while, head down, watching the rust-red water flow off of her and down the drain. How far would she have gone, if Adora really had been dead? She found she couldn’t really imagine the end of it. She’d have killed Grizzlor, of course, but then what? Anyone who happened to be nearby was appealing in a morbid sort of way. Imagining herself just going on a rampage, letting every piece of rage she’d ever pushed down come to the surface and run rampant on any poor idiot she happened to stumble across.

Her mind drifted to Shadow Weaver’s crystal. Would she have even bothered with trying to be Spymaster anymore? She closed her eyes and bit back a whimper as a painful certainty washed over her. She wouldn’t. Without Adora what would be the point? She wouldn’t have come back to the Rebellion, either. She would have run off into the Whispering Woods somewhere, shut it all away and lived like Razz until it stopped hurting.

With a sick drop in her stomach she realized that even once it had, she would have crawled back to Shadow Weaver and faced whatever punishment the witch could cook up, just to make sure it started again. She wouldn’t let it end.

She grabbed a bottle of something that smelled sweet so strongly it made her head spin and got to work, hoping the smell would keep her mind blank long enough that she wouldn’t think about that.

The water ran clear long before she turned it off, the drone of it hitting the floor and smoothing down her fur working to keep her mind sluggish. Eventually, though, after she’d finished picking bits of Grizzlor’s fingers out of her teeth, it became more itch than salve and she turned the water off.

Stepping out, she glanced at her clothes piled up next to the sink and grimaced, turning to dig through the drawers for something else to cover herself with. Finding a bathrobe she slipped it on, cinching the waist a little too tight, something about that felt proper right now. It was too fluffy and too pink for her tastes, but it would do.

She supposed she should go check up on Adora, but something about that idea made her hackles rise again, so she ended up sitting on the ground next to their bed and letting her mind stay carefully empty.

She was pulled back to reality some time later by a soft knocking at the door. She blinked, suddenly comprehending that she had been staring at the waterfall for who even knew how long. Catra considered just not answering the door, but people should know where Adora was by now, so whoever it was, they were probably looking for her. 

She considered it for a moment longer before getting to her feet with a huff. “I’m coming,” her voice came out a bit more choked than she’d expected it to and she cleared her throat as she opened the door.

She found she didn’t have the energy for much more than a wash of cold resignation when she saw it was Angella at the door, her hands clasped and her brow drawing up at the sight of her. “Oh,” Catra sighed, she was pretty sure she knew what was about to happen, but a petulant sort of habit took hold and she felt her eyes narrow, her voice growing clipped. “What?” Angella’s expression shifted to concern for a moment before she schooled herself placid.

“I heard what happened,” she said softly, standing in the doorway. “People worry.” Catra watched her, expecting her to shove her way into the room any second now, but it just didn’t happen. After a long moment she stepped aside, gesturing for Angella to come in and closing the door behind her once she had.

“Worry about Adora,” she murmured and stood up a little straighter, forcing her own face blank. If that was the game she wanted to play, they would play it.

“I checked on Adora,” Angella nodded to her, “she is doing quite well, considering. I had expected you to be with her.” Catra contained a scoff.

“If people worry, you know I wasn’t exactly presentable when I got back, your Majesty.” She almost moved to pick at one of her claws but stopped herself, she was already laying it on too thick as it was. Angella frowned slightly.

“Adora was rather a mess as well,” Catra had to hold very still to keep from flinching, here it came. “But she’s been sorted. It’s good to see you took care of yourself.” She blinked, already feeling like she was losing steam, there still wasn’t a trace of hostility in Angella’s posture. Catra glanced to the bathroom.

“I’m gonna need new clothes,” she muttered. Angella started a little.

“Ah, I’ll make sure to have some brought to you.” Catra felt herself begin to puff up, why couldn’t she just get on with it? Catra took a breath that she had to fight off a yawn in the middle of and realized she was too tired to do the full dance.

“Look,” Catra grit out, “I know what this is about.”

“Do you?” Angella blinked at her, cocking her head slightly.

“You gave me a job and I messed it up, I was supposed to keep her from doing anything stupid, but sometimes she’s eight feet of unstoppable bonehead, okay?” She tried to keep her voice level as she could, but she ended up snarling by the end of it. Angella’s eyes narrowed and her wings flared slightly, Catra silently braced herself.

“And you expect me to punish you for that?” Angella’s frown deepened for a moment and she made a strange gesture with her hands that Catra didn't recognize before clasping them together. Catra blinked, looking her over again.

“That’s how this works.” She offered, though it felt a little inadequate coming out of her mouth. Angella looked at her for a long moment before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, her wings settling back down.

“Report,” she ordered plainly, “tell me how Adora was injured.” Catra blinked at her, her mouth working uselessly for a moment before she found her voice again. Angella watched her with patient eyes as Catra explained what had happened, starting when Adora transformed the horse.

She was actually listening, she didn’t interrupt, or roll her eyes, or scoff at anything Catra said- even though some of it still grated a bit on Catra’s nerves with how ridiculous it sounded- and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. 

It felt nice, though, like something inside of her was decompressing and when she found herself openly rolling her eyes at Razz’ battle cry she realized at some point she’d relaxed, and Angella was still watching her calm as ever.

“Anyways,” she cleared her throat, “then Adora cut the cannon in half and…” her throat closed up on her, all the tension suddenly coming back. Angella raised a hand for silence, the motion smooth and gentle compared to Shadow Weaver's harsh snap to attention.

“I gathered the rest. Catra,” Angella’s eyes suddenly became piercing, Catra stiffened a little, “you did exactly as you should have.” Catra blinked, unable to keep her ears from twitching with her surprise.

Angella took her silence as an opportunity to continue. “You attempted to make her see reason, when that failed you stood with her to ensure she didn’t get in over her head, and then once she had you retrieved her and brought her back somewhere safe.” Angella smiled softly, “in that situation the best anyone can expect from you is to keep up and hold things together if it goes wrong.”

Angella sighed, glancing away for a moment to gather her thoughts. “It is better when we can convince them to do things the smart way, but with people like Adora and Glimmer that’s simply not always possible. Considering what you had to work with, you did an excellent job.”

For a long moment Catra didn’t know what to say, wide-eyed and too surprised to even consider stopping the riot of warmth flooding through her chest at the praise. There was still that part of her that wanted to brush her off, disregard what she said. That said it was the words she’d wanted, but from the wrong person. Angella wasn’t Shadow Weaver, who was she to take her place?

But there was another part of her, a piece that had latched onto this warmth and had her watching Angella far more intently than she should have that asked something different. Did it matter? Maybe later it would, she decided, but not right now. She felt her throat closing up again and coughed to clear it. Angella had gotten part of it wrong, anyways.

“I- uh- didn’t hold things together,” she admitted, turning away. She saw Angella shift closer out of the corner of her eye. “When Adora got shot I-” her throat closed on her again, like Adora wasn’t somewhere in this very castle, alive and well, like if she said it out loud this would all turn out to be a dream that she was trying not to wake from. She grit her teeth and forced the words out. “I thought she was dead.”

“Oh,” Angella’s voice went too soft again, too warm, but Catra didn't care. The floodgate was open and she couldn't stop.

“I panicked, I barely knew what was happening before I’d already torn half of Grizzlor’s face off. It was like-” she didn’t even have the words for it, her vision was swimming and it took everything she had not to let herself cry. It was just pain and fear and-

“Like the whole world fell out from under you,” Angella finished for her. Catra looked back to her and her eyes were closed, her hands clenched tight down at her sides. She let out a long sigh, “I understand the feeling.” Her wings drooped as she opened her eyes and for a moment she looked so tired. “Be happy you didn’t freeze the way I did. When Glimmer’s father died I became… disconnected. I couldn’t think, I barely spoke. It was months before I put myself together enough to lead again,” she scoffed quietly, “some say I never did, and in that time the first Alliance fell apart.”

Angella fell silent for a long moment and Catra marveled at the fact that she was willing to tell her this. Vulnerability wasn’t something shared in the Horde, especially not from commanders. For Angella to trust her with this, Catra didn’t know what to think.

She shook her head, “but Adora is alive, in part thanks to you, no matter how it may have felt in the moment. And hopefully, she’ll have learned something from this.”

“Not to step in front of tanks?” Catra offered with a quiet scoff, testing the limits a little. Angella just let out her own subtle laugh that sent another pulse of that warmth through Catra's chest.

“Yes, and that she shouldn’t try to handle these kinds of things alone.” She raised a hand and for a second Catra thought she was going to touch her, but her fingers curled and it fell back to her side. “And that even in the heat of the moment, sometimes the people around her really do know better.”

Catra nodded, unsure what else to say and Angella’s face softened a little. “Catra, will you be alright?” There was no accusation in her tone, no pity, hardly even any curiosity, just more of that soft warmth. Catra took a deep breath and thought for a moment before she responded.

“Soon,” she said firmly, Angella nodded, a soft- _relieved_ \- smile tugging at her face.

“Good. Once you are, and Adora has recovered, I would appreciate your tactical input. We will need to drive the Horde back out of the area they’ve cleared before it can start regrowing.” She paused, “you should check on Adora, I think it will help you.”

For the first time in years, Catra felt herself begin to salute without forcing it, but she stopped herself before it got further than just standing a little straighter. Angella cocked an eyebrow at her, but turned to leave without saying anything more.

Once she was out of the room, Catra felt her thoughts darken and she shook her head. The part of her that had protested to praise given by anyone other than Shadow Weaver clawing its way to the front of her mind and turning her attention back to the real mission. Most of what had happened would probably be reported through Grizzlor, but there was one thing the Horde didn’t know that might give them an opening, and eliminate a risk to Catra’s cover at the same time.

She wasn’t going to give this up, not yet; every part of her could agree on that, and Razz could force her out so easily.

She fished the gem out of her blood-stained clothes and pressed the button, letting the shadows surround her. When they cleared she was in the Black Garnet chamber, Shadow Weaver floating listlessly in front of the runestone before she turned to glare at her.

“Catra. Reporting back so soon?”

“The Princesses don’t control the Whispering Woods, but I just found out who does.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This'll be the last chapter until January. Sorry, but with the holidays coming around it felt like a good time to take a much-needed break from the deadlines.


	13. Yes Ma'am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra reports.  
> Adora still doesn't understand authority.  
> Shadow Weaver schemes.
> 
> (Advisory: I've edited the previous chapter somewhat. I wasn't especially happy with it and have now gotten it to a place where I feel is more appropriate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you I'd get something out in January! Got in right under the wire but it still counts. Adora was being the problem child again, I don't know what it is about her that's so difficult for me to write, lately.
> 
> The Way I see the Best Friend Quad Emergent Factions, Glimmer+Catra=Gremlin Time, Adora+Bow=Gremlin Containment Squad, Adora+Glimmer=Deus Vult!, and Bow+Catra=Dumbass Mitigation Patrol. With special guest star, Catra+Bow+Glimmer=He’s Just a Boy! Overall, the middle to end part of this chapter ended up a lot fluffier than I thought it would.

“What on Etheria are you wearing?” Shadow Weaver almost sounded amused and Catra had to fight down a blush.

“I- uh-” she tugged at the loose ends of the cinch to make sure the bathrobe stayed closed. She’d practically forgotten she was wearing it and silently cursed herself out for not waiting until she had something better. 

It didn’t matter, she had a report and she was going to give it. She straightened up and brushed her hair out of her eyes, making a mental note to put her headguard back on once she was done here. “It’s been a long day, and I need you to focus here.” Her mind snagged on something spiteful, because of course, _that_ was what the witch focused on, not the potential weapon she’d just dropped in her lap. “I know how hard that can be when your spine doesn’t exist anymore, but stay with me. Big breakthrough, I found it, you following?” 

Shadow Weaver’s eyes narrowed and she moved closer to where Catra was standing, her lower body lagging behind her slightly like she was being dragged through the air again. The sight still sent shivers of revulsion and guilt through Catra.

“Have you now?” Shadow Weaver sneered, looming tall over Catra for a moment before something flickered and she turned back to the runestone, bobbing over to it and raising a hand to press against it. Red lightning flashed up her arm to the gem set in her mask. Catra shook herself to drive away what felt like a knot that had settled in her throat.

“Yes,” she insisted, “it’s some old woman living out there named Razz.” Shadow Weaver’s head pitched forward for a second before a shadow slithered out of her robe and grabbed at it, wrenching it back into place. Catra winced at the sight before the darkness melted down into Shadow Weaver’s hair and she mechanically turned her head to look down her nose.

“Razz does not exist,” she said with a scoff. “No more than the mythical Loo-kee does.” She turned dismissively, but before Catra could retort she kept speaking. “Fairy tales follow certain themes, you see. The old crone in the woods, preying on small children, dispensing lost knowledge and curses. The beast that watches and threatens but never shows itself until it is too late. ‘Madame’ Razz and her like are the culmination of these tales surrounding the forest. Boogie men cooked up by those unwilling to accept that the Whispering Woods and the creatures within are simply powerful in their own right.”

“She was awfully chatty for a myth,” Catra growled back, and that was even without considering that Razz had caught her. Catra wouldn’t tell Shadow Weaver that, she didn’t need more excuses to look down on her. Shadow Weaver waved her off dismissively.

“I had expected you would be unreliable, but twice in as many reports? You’re even more incompetant than I imagined.”

“You mean Plumeria?” Catra blinked, her hands balling at her sides. “The loss at Plumeria was your fault! If you’d shown up on time it would have worked like a charm.”

“This condescension tests my _patience,_ child!” Shadow Weaver roared back, the room fading around the edges like the darkness was reaching for Catra. She stopped herself from stepping back, glancing down to remind herself that she wasn’t truly there. Shadow Weaver couldn’t hurt her. Instead she stepped forwards, pointing an accusing finger.

“I gave you a full day’s warning, dropped a plan in your lap, and you decided to wait until the last minute to do anything with it. I did my job, it’s not my fault you didn’t do yours.” Catra felt her ears start to drift down as Shadow Weaver’s fingers crooked, flashes of red and black lancing between them, but she forced them to pin up and back instead.

Aggression was key, if Catra backed down now it would become the accepted truth in the Fright Zone that she’d lost them Plumeria. Shadow Weaver’s hands clenched into fists after a moment longer as the lightning flickered out, her head wobbling dangerously before she turned back to the Black Garnet again.

“You exhaust me,” She snarled, placing both her hands on the runestone this time. “Do you have anything workable to bring me, or just a fool’s errand?”

Catra let out a quiet, relieved breath; stalemate, she could work with that.

“Grizzlor’s little operation out in the Whispering Woods is already halfway wrecked, and the Rebellion’s keeping their eyes out for it now.” Shadow Weaver didn’t react and Catra scoffed, letting the vengeful part of herself take hold. “But you don’t care about that,” Shadow Weaver turned slightly, eyes narrowed, probably about to give Catra an earful about not presuming or something. “What’s important is he shot Adora.”

Now that got a reaction. The room grew noticeably darker, formless things flickering in the edges of Catra’s vision. “With a high yield cannon.”

“He lives?” Shadow Weaver’s voice came out low and seething, with the kind of rage Catra was far more familiar with than she’d like to be. If she wasn’t careful this was going to blow up in her face instead of Grizzlor’s.

“Only because Adora’s alive,” she snapped, “I took most of his face and one of his hands, though.”

“You allowed him to touch _my_ Adora,” the shadows stabbed up away from the walls, stopping inches from the whirling shards of gem surrounding Catra. “And he still draws breath?” She took one of her hands off the Black Garnet to point at her. The motion alone almost made Catra freeze in place, but no surge of painful magic followed it. She didn’t close her eyes, couldn’t show that kind of weakness in front of Shadow Weaver, but she still took a deep breath to steady herself.

She couldn’t reach her here.

“I didn’t ‘allow’ anything,” she growled. “And he wouldn’t, if anything I might have done to him could measure up to what you _will_ do to him.” The darkness stilled, she had her attention. “String him up by his ankles and toss him off a walkway, shoot enough lightning into him that we can use his corpse as a battery, send him to Beast Island, I don’t care.”

Something hot and painful caught in Catra’s chest, making her next words come out as a snarl. “What matters is that you make an example of him. He’s only alive now so we can make him suffer for touching _my_ best friend.” She bared her teeth, if Shadow Weaver wanted to lay claim to Adora, Catra would claim her right back.

Adora was hers, and at the end of this that would be obvious to everyone, even Shadow Weaver.

Shadow Weaver stared at her, nothing showing through that blank mask of hers, not even a narrowing of her eyes.

“There are certain magics that I suppose I need a less than willing subject to practice on,” she relented at last, turning back to the Black Garnet. “And with what you two did to me, I am in need of some… shall we say? Spare parts.”

Catra’s anger calmed just enough at the thoughtful tone in Shadow Weaver’s voice for her to wonder exactly what she’d just sent Grizzlor back to but she brushed it aside. Doubt would get her killed as surely as getting found out would.

“He’ll verify what I said about Razz, too,” Catra smoothed her hair back down, “he saw her.”

“And you maintain what you claim about her abilities?” Shadow Weaver probed, not turning from the runestone.

“Of course,” Catra crossed her arms and Shadow Weaver made a strange sort of noise. Like she was trying to hum with her mouth only half closed.

“Then I will consider sending a team to search for her. Is that all?” There was something pulled tight and furious under the disinterest in Shadow Weaver’s voice, but it was different from usual. This didn’t feel like it was directed at Catra, and she found the cold indifference Shadow Weaver showed most people stuck between her ribs like a knife.

“Yes.” She stood a little straighter, trying not to be shaken too badly. Shadow Weaver turned her head to glance back at her, studying her for a moment.

“Then you are dismissed. Know that if you have sent me after nothing, you’ll find my trinket has other uses.” Catra swallowed, the part of her that was still making notes of and worrying over Shadow Weaver’s state almost finding itself soothed by the threat. She nodded firmly, not trusting her voice any longer, and tapped one of the whirling shards.

After the wash of black she plucked the gem out of the air before it could fall. She glanced from it to the bathrobe. This thing didn’t have pockets, so she’d need to find somewhere to stash the gem until her clothes were replaced.

She considered just tucking it back into her old clothes, but she’d rather not get caught digging through them for it later. Her mind turned to the bed, she couldn’t stash it underneath, too exposed, but perhaps the frame could serve some purpose after all.

A quick investigation of the bed confirmed her suspicions that there was space between the mattress and the frame, and she carefully slipped the gem into the gap. She’d find a better hiding place for it tonight, maybe in that abandoned study. For now, though, it was still bright out, someone would see her.

Her attention caught on a flash of light out of the corner of her eye and she glanced down at her hands. Her claws were still extended, tense and sharp in the light. She concentrated on pulling them back under control and they slid away. Shadow Weaver’s dismissive tone echoed through her head and there was a moment where she wondered if that was in improvement over the usual. Her next breath came shuddering through her chest and she closed her eyes, gritting her teeth against a sudden wave of cold sickness in her stomach.

She forced her breathing to even out before she opened her eyes again, stumbling back into the bathroom to retrieve her headguard. She was fine, she would _be_ fine, she insisted to herself as she put it back in place, the cold metal helping to ground her. She needed to check on Adora. Just having her nearby would help.

She wandered the castle for what felt like upwards of an hour before she had to swallow her pride and just ask one of the guards where the infirmary was.

Glimmer and Bow were inside when she arrived, talking in low voices to each other next to a still sleeping Adora’s bed. Catra considered slipping back out of the room until they went away but decided against it. They were part of the deal now, like Lonnie and the others had been back in the Fright Zone, she’d have to get used to having them around.

Something about that chafed but she shoved the feeling away. Soon enough it wouldn’t matter, soon she’d have Adora all to herself.

She noticed an extra chair next to Bow and blinked. They’d made sure she had a spot. Something twinged in her chest and she felt her shoulders start to relax. Right, they didn’t hate her yet and, for the sake of her cover at least, she shouldn’t give them any reasons to. She had to stop herself from wincing as she remembered her one-sided screaming match with Bow.

She waited until she was sure the two of them weren’t paying enough attention to notice her before she slipped into the empty seat, giving Adora a quick once-over.

She was breathing deeper already, and someone had cleaned the blood off of her clothes and face. Catra let out a quiet, relieved breath, that cold feeling in her stomach warming as she settled back into her seat, tuning herself into Glimmer and Bow’s conversation.

“-this keeps up there’s no way mom will let us go out to the other Princesses,” Glimmer hissed, her eyes down and brow furrowed.

“Isn’t this why, though?” Bow offered back, putting a hand on her shoulder. “If you get hurt you can’t do anything.” Glimmer’s eyes came up to Bow and Catra recognized the look on her face immediately. It was the same one Adora used to get when she was scolded about taking the hit for someone. ‘Better me than someone else,’ that look said, though there was something sharp underneath it in Glimmer that wouldn’t have been there with Adora.

Catra couldn’t stop herself from scoffing at the sight of it, alerting them both to her presence with a shock that nearly had Bow jumping off his chair.

“Look who decided to show up,” Glimmer snapped once she got her breathing back under control. Catra nearly snapped something back but Glimmer’s heart wasn’t really in it, so she just crooked a brow at her instead and Glimmer deflated, looking away. “My mom’s looking for you,” she murmured, “so watch out for that.”

“She found me,” Catra shrugged. Glimmer perked up and Catra considered not telling her anything for a moment. “She’s still looking to play defense, but I don’t think she’ll take this one laying down.” She eyed Glimmer imperiously for a moment, sliding a sharp smirk onto her face. “Probably not letting you anywhere near it, though.”

Glimmer’s eyes narrowed again for a moment before an equally mischievous smile spread across her face.

“Let me guess, same way you wouldn’t let Adora if you had your way?” She asked, leaning in over Bow, who seemed to be trying as hard as possible to stay out of either of their direct lines of sight.

Catra blinked, keeping track of her expression so nothing would give her away. What was that supposed to mean? She couldn’t just ask, that would be forfeiting this round. She settled on rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

“If I’m getting dragged into this I’m taking her with me.” She made sure to show teeth in her smile this time as she leaned closer. “Besides, safest place for her is right next to the one of us with some sense. Isn’t that right, Bow?” She leaned back in her seat as Bow squeaked to himself and Glimmer’s glare suddenly became a shade more genuine. She’d hit a nerve, best to remember that.

“I’ve got sense,” Glimmer protested, “I make good decisions all the time.”

“Is that what you wanna call it?” She threw Bow an amused look to invite him back in. He still looked a little frightened of her, but this was as close to an apology as he was going to get, and with a blink he seemed to take the hint.

“Well,” he said slowly, drawing out the word like he was waiting to see if she’d interrupt him, “there was refusing to give Adora the sword in that temple.”

“Wha-” Glimmer sputtered, “traitor! We didn’t know the first thing about her then, you wouldn’t have given it to her either.”

“There _was_ a building coming down on our heads,” he shrugged.

“Well then,” Glimmer’s glare had softened again, “what about you talking me into running out into the woods in the first place, hmm?”

“See, if you made better decisions he wouldn’t be able to do that,” Catra drawled, drawing a much less sincere glare from Glimmer this time. “But now I’m curious. Bow the troublemaker, didn’t think you had it in you.” She cast him a teasing smirk and could see Glimmer mirroring it on his other side.

“Oh yeah,” she elbowed him gently, “he wouldn’t be part of the Rebel Alliance if he was _too_ straight laced.”

“Glimmer,” he muttered, his face practically glowing red.

“He sneaks into and out of the castle all the time, it used to drive mom crazy.”

“Do you now?”

“It’s more fun than coming in the front door,” he offered a little desperately. Seemed having both of their attention was a bit more than he’d bargained for. “And she used to ambush me when I tried to!” He pointed at Glimmer, Catra’s eyes met hers and she felt the spark of a shared understanding.

Both their grins widened as they silently agreed that neither Bow or Adora would ever be able to walk into a room without checking the doorway again. Catra heard Bow swallow nervously.

These two were already shaping up to be more fun than the old squad.

* * *

  
  


Adora woke as she usually did, like something had jammed live wires into her lungs. She gasped quietly as she shot up to a sitting position. She didn’t recognize the room. That was bad, that wasn’t supposed to happen anymore, she needed to-

“Hey Adora,” Catra, that was Catra. “Morning,” Adora’s head snapped over to look at her. Catra was sitting next to the bed she was on, Glimmer and Bow sitting next to her. They looked a lot more concerned than Catra did, which probably meant they’d made it back in more or less one piece. That could also be because Adora woke up like she’d been shot out of a cannon, though.

She winced as something ached in her chest, oh yeah, she might as well have been.

“What happened?” She hadn’t meant for it to be, but if the way Catra’s face stilled was any indication it had come out as a demand. “Where’re Razz and Horsey?”

Catra’s eyes narrowed like she’d just remembered she was supposed to be angry with her right now.

“ _You_ got shot,” she snapped, standing up and putting a hand on Adora’s shoulder to push her back down onto the bed. “And you’re lucky you’re alive for me to say ‘I told you so.’ Otherwise I’d have to hunt down a way to bring you back so I could smack you.”

Adora let herself be pressed down. Catra’s tone was light, but her expression was edging closer to grimace by the second, best to go along as she took stock of the situation.

The colours were Bright Moon, and there were other beds along the walls, so an infirmary. Safe, all things considered. Adora’s whole body kind of ached, especially around her ribs, but she was able to breathe deep without it flaring up too much, so she was relatively uninjured.

“But what about-” Catra cut her off with a groan.

“Fine, they’re fine. The horse came back to give us a lift out of there, just like you said he would. We dropped Razz off back by her hut, he took off for who knows where, and I carried you the rest of the way back here.” Catra crossed her arms and sat back down, “you’re welcome.”

“...Thank you.” Adora said after a moment of studying the three of them, she must have really worried them. “I- uh- didn’t think he’d actually shoot,” she admitted, but if she was honest, it was more of an excuse. Catra gave her a flat, unimpressed glare, but both Glimmer and Bow practically jumped up onto the bed with her, matching incredulous expressions on their faces.

“Excuse me!?”

“You what!?”

Adora tried to lean back away from the two of them, but just ended up squishing down into the bed a bit more. She threw a glance over to Catra, who’s face had softened slightly in a grin. Well, she knew who’s side she was on. Adora raised her hands to try and defend herself.

“He’d spent the entire rest of the fight running away, right Catra?” Catra shrugged and hummed something more or less affirmative. “How was I supposed to know he would stand his ground right after I cut his cannon in half?”

“Because he has a _cannon,_ ” Bow shouted, his voice cracking with concern, but Glimmer’s expression went thoughtful.

“Longways or shortways?” She asked, Adora considered lying, but Catra beat her to the punch.

“Shortways,” she snipped, drawing a quick glare from Adora.

“Then I’m with Bow and Catra, he still had a cannon, Adora.” Glimmer crossed her arms at her. Adora had felt pretty good about her decision right up until he’d shot her, but it was starting to look like the kind of move that was going to just keep getting worse for her.

“...I took off most of the rail.”

“Which is probably the real reason you’re still alive,” Catra offered with a smirk, evidently enjoying the fact that she wasn’t alone in dressing Adora down. “Speaking of, Angella wanted to talk with both of us once you were feeling up to it.” Catra stood up, “how’re you feeling?”

“Uh- Not good enough to be yelled at?” She said, hoping she wasn’t cringing too badly. If Bow and Glimmer knew, chances were the Queen knew exactly what had happened as well. She was not looking forward to that conversation. Catra raised an eyebrow at her.

“...Yeah, mom’s definitely not happy about this.” Glimmer said, throwing a concerned look between Catra and Adora. “You’re probably going to be under house arrest for a while.”

“I’ve never seen her pull out the ‘you almost died’ glare for anyone other than Glimmer before,” Bow agreed with a shudder.

Adora groaned and pressed herself deeper into the pillow.

“Come on,” Catra rolled her eyes, “I’m not in trouble and I’m the one who was right there when it happened. You’ll be fine.” Adora gave her a curious look and she shrugged. “You were hurt, I got debriefed.” Something sank in Adora’s stomach and Catra’s lip twitched with a grimace. “I said it’s _fine._ ”

“Um-” Glimmer started.

“It’s nothing,” Catra snapped, “she’s just paranoid.”

“About the Queen?” Bow asked, his brow furrowing with concern.

“And anything else that moves, except for when it counts.” Catra rolled her eyes as she turned to leave the room. “You coming to get this over with or what?” Adora considered staying put for a moment but sighed and swung herself out of the bed. Her range of movement was fine, and standing didn’t hurt, so she supposed now was as good a time as any.

Bow and Glimmer followed a couple paces behind as Adora followed Catra through the halls, obviously wanting to hear what was going to happen, but not wanting to get caught up in it.

Catra’s silence was tense, her claws weren’t out but her shoulders were a little too low, she was forcing them down. She was definitely still angry. Or the Queen had done something. Adora felt her own hands curl into fists before she took a quiet breath to calm herself. If something serious had happened Catra would be hiding, not joking around with Glimmer and Bow.

She wanted to ask her what the Queen had said, but she couldn’t quite force the words out, especially not with Glimmer so close. So instead she let the awkward silence last until they got to the room with the map table.

Catra shoved open the door and strode inside like she owned the place, throwing Adora a sharp smirk over her shoulder as Adora felt a cold vicegrip take a hold of her heart.

The Queen was sitting at the other end of the table, conversing quietly with the general, the map table showing a cross-section of territory around the whispering woods just north of Bright Moon. She glanced up at Catra and frowned, turning to the general and raising a hand for silence before standing up.

“Catra,” her voice was stern and Adora felt her feet freeze to the floor. “Has something happened?” The Queen arched a brow and Adora’s feet came unstuck, she stepped forwards to put a hand on Catra’s shoulder, gently pulling her a little bit back so she could stand between them without getting any closer.

“I’m sorry we interrupted you,” she said quickly as she could, “it won’t happen again.” She felt Catra pull away from her with a scoff as the Queen’s eyes shifted to Adora.

“Ah, you’re awake, good.” She turned back to the general, “this shouldn’t take long,” the Queen assured her. The general saluted and stepped back from the table.

The Queen sat back down, gesturing for them to approach the table. “I asked Catra to bring you to me once you were recovered, how are you feeling?” She glanced over Adora’s shoulder, “Glimmer, Bow, you may enter as well. I have need of Bow’s expertise.”

“Yes ma’am,” Bow squeaked from behind her, stepping forward.

The others each took seats at the table, but Adora stood for a moment longer, watching the Queen. She didn’t seem angry, but there was a tension in the air. The Queen’s brow furrowed and Adora realized she hadn’t answered her.

“I’m good,” she said with a nervous chuckle as she sat down, “good as new.” Catra crooked a brow at her as she sat down.

“Yes, one wouldn’t think you’d been shot,” the Queen provided dryly and Adora flinched. “That is one of the first things I wanted to speak with you about.”

“...Should we be here for this?” Glimmer asked, looking a bit like she wanted to sink under the table.

“Yes, Glimmer,” the Queen set her wings, steepling her fingers. “You said you would be responsible for them, now one has run off half-cocked and been injured as a result. These are your soldiers, Commander.”

“I was-” Adora started, jumping to Glimmer’s defense.

“Concerned with our response time, I know.” The Queen nodded firmly at her. “Which has brought my attention to a rather glaring flaw in our current structure. Communication.” She turned her attention to Bow. “Your tracker pad, how many do you suppose you could make in a week’s time?”

“Maybe a dozen, your Majesty,” he said quickly, sitting up straighter, “with the right equipment.”

“Then I will see that you get it,” the Queen nodded. “I would like the first three that you make issued to myself, Glimmer, and Adora.” Her gaze became stern again, “Adora, once you have yours, you are to keep it on your person at all times. If you find yourself in a situation like the one this morning you are to put out a call to Glimmer or myself, and wait until either you have confirmed that reinforcements have arrived or we give the order, before you make any further moves. Understood?”

“Understood, your Majesty.” Adora nodded carefully, that wasn’t too bad.

“Until then,” the Queen continued, “you are not to leave the castle grounds.”

“Your Majesty?” Adora blinked, glancing over at Glimmer, who was starting to fidget restlessly in her seat, though she looked more embarrassed than scared.

“We do not have the manpower to keep a guard detail on you,” the Queen answered. “Our position is delicate, Adora, we cannot afford to lose any of our key players. Until we have a better way to ensure you do not pull another stunt like this, we will simply keep you away from the line of fire.”

“But what if someone’s in trouble?” Adora couldn’t help asking; if anything she’d just proven she needed to be at the front line, the fact she was still here was proof enough that she could take it.

“If we’re doing our jobs, no one will be,” the Queen responded calmly.

“But anyone else would-”

“That is _exactly_ my point, Adora.” The Queen’s voice grew terse. “You can survive a frankly incredible amount of harm, but did you know that when you stepped in front of a cannon?”

“Well, no.”

“If you were anyone- and I do mean _anyone-_ else,” the Queen’s eyes narrowed dangerously as her wings flared, “we would not be having this conversation. Your life is not something to risk so carelessly, and I will not leave it to chance again.”

 _“I will not tolerate any more of this foolishness, Adora,”_ Shadow Weaver’s voice echoed behind Angella’s words and that dark thing under Adora’s skin practically writhed. She felt herself take a sharp breath as reflex took over and she sat up straighter, set her jaw, her voice even.

“Yes Ma’am.” She was frozen, her eyes glued straight ahead on the Queen. She blinked, watching Adora in return for a long moment before her wings settled back down and she clasped her hands on the table. She hesitated for another moment, her eyes flicking to Catra, and for a split second Adora felt like the angry thing in her chest was going to tear its way out. 

“You are dismissed,” the Queen’s voice was strange, lower and softer than Adora was used to dismissals being. “We will discuss the situation in the Whispering Woods tomorrow.”

It was like a lock had been broken. Suddenly Adora could breathe again and it was all she could do not to sag in her chair. She nodded quickly so it wouldn’t wobble.

“Thanks mom, bye,” Glimmer said quickly, grabbing one of Adora’s wrists and popping them both back out into the hall. 

While Adora blinked and made sure her legs wouldn’t give out on her, Glimmer let out a noise like she’d been holding her breath the whole time the Queen had been speaking and was only now letting it out. “Uugh, I am so sorry about that. She considers scoldings for Horde-related incidents part of ‘work,’ so it can get weirdly…” Glimmer scowled and waved her hands like she was raking the air for the words, “public.”

Her face softened, “are you okay with us seeing that?” Adora blinked, it hadn’t even occurred to her to worry that they were seeing it, she’d been more worried about them getting caught in a punishment crossfire.

“It’s fine,” she said after a moment so she’d be sure her voice wouldn’t wobble. “If I’m not allowed to leave the castle for the next couple days you’d find out anyways.” She heard a door open somewhere further down the hall, Catra and Bow calling for the two of them, Catra with irritation and Bow with concern. Adora winced, “we should probably let them know we’re not making a break for it.”

Glimmer let out a chuckle that was only a little bit forced and started walking towards their voices, gesturing for Adora to follow. Adora fell in step behind her, taking a deep breath and trying to force the angry thing in her chest to finish calming down.

She could admit that staying in front of the cannon had been a bad idea, and rushing in without a real plan had been pretty stupid as well. The Queen was well within her rights as a superior officer to discipline her for such a dumb mistake. As far as punishments went, this was basically nothing, just a couple simple measures to prevent it from happening again. Shadow Weaver would have been much less lenient, and she would have left them to figure out how to keep it from happening again themselves.

Catra was right, the Queen wasn’t Shadow Weaver, she wasn’t even _like_ Shadow Weaver. She was harmless, and Adora was overreacting. Wasn’t she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thing that delayed this chapter so much was the meeting with Angella, the original version was a lot more directly aggressive on Adora's end. I wrote it up like four times but it never quite felt right, then I realized that Adora wouldn't really be snapping at Angella, certainly not this early on. So now it's more subdued but still gets across what I intended for it to, and it feels right.


	14. Intermission 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angella sees the damage, a piece of it too late.

Angella had found that being a Queen was mostly paperwork and tedium of some sort or another. There had been nobles in Bright Moon, once, to help the Queen keep up with busywork, but if she was honest she was glad they had left; the personal politics between them had been a constant headache for her mother, and Angella suspected she'd fare no better. The messenger from whatever province the reports or requests came from was generally more helpful in making decisions, anyhow.

Or Micah, he had been invaluable.

She shook the thought from her head, she had work to do, no sense in letting herself get melancholy at midday.

She turned her attention back to what she was looking over. Alwyn was requesting a bolstering of the Bright Moon guard in the area to keep up with the night-watch. The messenger had been jumpy, his eyes and hands restless even once she’d offered to let him stay in the castle for the night. No sense in forcing him to stay on the roads after dark.

It seemed the concern was genuine, but as Angella ran the numbers in her head she couldn’t justify re-allocating the manpower. Perhaps a specialist could have helped, but the message was vague as to the nature of the threat. She could hardly work with ‘strange noises,’ as it were. She sighed, perhaps it was just some denizen of the Whispering Woods that had wandered out of its original territory.

She could point them in the direction of a competent trapper, but that was all she could do. They wouldn’t be happy about it, but she couldn’t say she was, either. She scoffed to herself, that made it the perfect compromise, she supposed. She pulled a blank sheet to draft the letter and there was an almost frantic knock at the door.

She hesitated a moment, setting her wings and sitting up straight; it wouldn’t do to let whoever it was see the Queen dishevelled.

“Come in,” she called, placing down her pen.

The guard who entered looked pale, panting like she’d been running.

“Your Majesty,” she saluted, “something’s happened. She-Ra and the Horde defector have just returned from the Whispering Woods, She-Ra has been injured.”

Angella felt her stomach drop but didn’t let anything show beyond a blink as she rose from her seat.

“How badly?” She asked, already stepping around her desk to make for the door.

“I’m not sure, there was a lot of blood, but the Horde Defector-”

“Catra,” Angella corrected absently as she walked.

“Yes, Catra- said it wasn’t theirs and to fetch a medic.”

“I trust you did that before you came to find me,” Angella said, more question than statement, casting the guard a sidelong glance.

“I would have, but by the time I reached the infirmary it seems Princess Glimmer had found them and escorted She-Ra there herself.”

“And Catra?” The guard didn’t miss a step at the question, but it was a near thing.

“She wasn’t there, I assumed Glimmer sent someone to get her.”

“Thank you,” Angella nodded, waving the guard away, “that will be all, you may return to your post.” The guard saluted and stepped away down a different hallway.

Not even two days back and they’d already managed to get into trouble. Angella felt her brow furrow with irritation at the same moment she admonished herself for it. The Whispering Woods were unpredictable, chances were it wasn’t their fault; and the forest was too important to the Rebellion’s operations to forbid entry, no matter how often she was tempted to. It sounded as if Glimmer was involved in some manner, but she may have only become a part of events at the very end.

What had they even been doing in the Whispering Woods, anyways? Angella wondered but took a deep breath and abandoned the train of thought, she could debrief them when she found them. She needed to have all the facts before she let herself get worked up.

A healer was fussing over Adora when Angella entered, Glimmer and Bow standing off to the side and stiffening to attention when they spotted her. Angella considered engaging with them immediately, but there were more pressing matters at the moment. It wouldn’t take long.

She stepped closer to the healer to get a look at Adora. There was a bowl of reddened water and a rag beside the cot, but Adora didn’t seem to have a scratch on her. Catra had evidently said the blood wasn’t theirs, but it was good to have confirmation. “How serious is it?” She asked the healer, who stiffened a moment when he realized she was there.

“It-” he cleared his throat- “doesn’t seem too bad, which is strange. Bruising would suggest she’d been hit in the chest by a boulder, but none of her ribs are broken and the bruises are already going away.”

“Accelerated healing?” Angella cocked a brow; that would be valuable, but it could lead to recklessness just as easily. It also made it difficult to say how serious the injury had been when she’d gotten it.

“It would appear so.” Angella nodded and turned to Glimmer and Bow, who seemed to be trying to avoid her notice by standing very still. Angella couldn’t help the exasperated way her wings drooped. She wasn’t going to bite them, though the question of discipline still hung on who had been involved.

“Any idea what happened to her?” She asked, her tone unintentionally slipping into near accusation, the kind of tone her own mother had used with her when she’d known good and full well that she had answers. Glimmer shrugged quickly and Angella had to contain a sigh; too stern, always too stern.

“Uh, Catra mentioned something about the Horde being in the woods and…” Bow trailed off and Angella turned her eyes on him, raising a brow for him to continue. He murmured something unintelligible, throwing a worried glance over to Glimmer. Angella cleared her throat and he snapped to attention again, words spilling out almost too fast for her to keep track of, “she said Adora stepped in front of a cannon to save a horse.” Angella felt her brows go up.

“A horse?” She asked flatly, incredulous. Glimmer’s face twisted with disbelief as well, as she threw a look between Bow and the unconscious Adora. “You’re certain?” Bow nodded almost frantically.

“Catra did also say we were down a horse,” Glimmer added, her brow furrowing as she looked down like she was trying to calculate the logistics of the thing. Angella closed her eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath.

Of all the reckless, irresponsible-

She let the breath out smoothly, it wouldn’t do to shout right now. She needed more information. She glanced back at Adora with narrowed eyes. This would still need correcting. Her mind started turning on the problem, but without knowing what, exactly, caused this she couldn’t get much further than ‘give her an earful when she wakes up.’

“Where is Catra?” She asked with a sigh. They glanced at each other before shrugging. That was fair enough, she supposed. It was a relatively good sign, if Catra had been injured they would hardly be so at ease with not knowing her whereabouts. Angella gave them a nod and moved to leave the room.

Angella assumed Catra would have gone to get herself cleaned up, another good sign where Adora was concerned. Catra’s worry for Adora mirrored Angella’s for Glimmer, if Adora’s injury had been especially serious, Catra likely wouldn’t have bothered with a shower. However, Angella thought as she passed through the entryway to the castle, noting a set of deep furrows in the wall, it might not speak so well to her mental state.

She frowned and knelt down to inspect the marks in the stone, running a finger along a jagged edge. Catra’s claws must be quite strong to have accomplished that. She admonished herself again, she should have asked how Catra seemed to be taking things. Adora was a sensitive spot for her, in ways that Angella still wasn’t quite sure of, this was probably wreaking havoc on the poor girl.

She sighed and stood again, headed towards Catra’s room.

She was met with silence when she knocked, not even the quiet shifting of someone refusing to answer the door. She frowned to herself, where else would Catra have gone? As she wandered back down the hall the way she’d come one of the guards stopped her.

“Are you looking for the Horde Defector?” He asked her, looking up at her nervously. She nodded, “she went further up the hall, I think headed for She-Ra’s room.”

“Thank you,” she gave him another nod.

“Your Majesty, I wouldn’t disturb her at the moment. She looked… well like she’d already killed someone.” Angella felt her brow furrow and he backed up a step. That was all the more reason to check on her.

“Thank you for the warning,” she turned to head back up the hall.

Approaching Adora’s room it was more obvious there was someone occupying it, she could hear the faint sound of the shower running. Seemed Catra really had gone to get cleaned up. Angella thought for a moment longer, considering her fur it would likely be some time before she was finished. A restless itch nestled itself into her hands but she turned away nonetheless. She had work she could do in the meantime, she’d check back again in an hour or so.

Her mind kept turning on what may have happened in the meantime. Adora had been injured, but Catra had said the blood wasn’t hers. Adora had taken cannonfire to protect the horse and was relatively unscathed for the attempt, so it was unlikely the blood had been the horse’s. Which meant that one or both of them had been close to someone else who had been given a rather messy end. Perhaps on the blade of the Sword of Protection, though Angella had the feeling Adora wouldn’t have struck to kill.

What would a horse have been doing in the Whispering Woods in the first place, unless they had taken the horse with them when they went into it. Once she finished her response to the mayor of Alwyn she decided to check if they actually were missing a horse, just to keep impatience from setting in.

They were, the stablehand told her a rather strange tale involving a blade of light, and a horse suddenly sprouting wings and flying away. That would be why both they and the horse had headed off into the woods. This was shaping up to just seem like it had been bad luck all around, a couple of bad turns that had blown up in Adora’s face quite literally.

That was… less of a problem than if Adora had been reckless, but she still needed to keep her expectations managed. She glanced up to get a measure for the moons, it had been nearly two hours, Catra would be as ready as she could be to speak.

When Angella approached the door this time, it was quiet, almost too quiet. She stopped before the door and listened, hoping Catra hadn’t wandered off somewhere else.

There was a soft scraping sound, like stone rubbing against stone, coming from behind the door that she could just barely hear, if she’d so much as been walking it would have drowned it out. She steeled herself, drawing up tall before she knocked and clasped her hands together.

The scraping stopped, and for a long moment there was silence.

“I’m coming,” Catra called out, her voice sounding small and pained. Angella blinked, had she been hurt? The door opened, revealing Catra in a bathrobe, her eyes haggard and hair still drooping with water. She looked exhausted and Angella couldn’t help the way her brow rose as she gave Catra a quick once-over.

She didn’t appear injured, but her tail curled around her leg at the sight of Angella. “Oh,” Catra’s voice came out stronger this time and that same strange pseudo-defiance sparked behind her eyes as she spat out. “What?”

Catra may not have been injured, but she did not seem to be all right. Angella took a breath and smoothed away any intent from her expression, she’d spooked Catra before by letting herself be too free with her, she couldn’t afford to make the same mistake this time.

“I heard what happened,” she offered. “People worry,” it was a rather transparent move, but she needed to keep it somewhat impersonal, allow Catra a measure of separation from events to keep her from feeling cornered.

Catra’s eyes narrowed at her and she set her jaw like she was expecting something, but after a moment longer one of her ears twitched before she stepped aside, gesturing for Angella to enter. She’d thrown her off again, which Angella still wasn’t quite sure was a good thing or not.

“Worry about Adora,” Catra murmured as she closed the door behind them and stood straighter, her face stilling in forced boredom. She was suspicious, waiting for a shoe to drop, she likely hadn’t been as certain of Adora’s condition as she thought.

“I checked on Adora,” Angella nodded to her, hoping to ease some of her worry, “she is doing quite well, considering.” If Catra hadn’t been sure, why would she have left her? “I had expected you to be with her.” That hard glint behind her eyes flared but Catra didn’t outwardly react.

“If people worry,” Angella blinked as Catra all but scoffed at the idea, “you know I wasn’t exactly presentable when I got back, your Majesty.” She pressed heavily on the title, like she was trying to use it to push her away. Angella frowned, she was used to that happening, but it was the first part that worried her.

Adora had ventured back into the belly of the beast for Catra, she had to know at least _someone_ worried about her.

“Adora was rather a mess as well,” Angella said softly, Catra didn’t move, her breathing all but seeming to stop. Whether in relief or fear she couldn’t quite tell, “but she’s been sorted. It is good to see you took care of yourself.” Gentle pressure, reassurance that yes, someone did care. Catra blinked, studying Angella for a moment before looking away, still silent.

Angella took the opportunity to glance around the room and her eyes caught on something. Next to the bed there were furrows in the stone floor, deep and smooth, like she’d been idly clawing at the ground, that would be what that scraping noise had been. More evidence that Catra had been rattled, Angella frowned to herself.

“I’m gonna need some new clothes,” Catra said almost guiltily and Angella had to shake herself out of her thoughts before she could respond.

“Ah, I’ll make sure to have some brought to you.” Catra almost shuddered at the assurance and Angella suddenly realized her claws were still out, even as she mastered herself again, keeping the blank shield up for a moment longer before another shiver worked its way through her.

“Look,” Catra grit her teeth and Angella felt as if she’d misstepped somewhere. “I know what this is about.” She sounded a hair shy of furious, but there was something thrumming underneath it, something that had Catra taking a step away so slight that Angella doubted she knew she was doing it.

“Do you?” Angella regarded her with open curiosity, something had dug itself into Catra’s thoughts, she would see what it was.

“You gave me a job and I messed it up,” Catra started, her voice straining with anger, “I was supposed to keep her from doing anything stupid,” that frightened defiance in her eyes hardened and she took a step forward, her voice raising until she was shouting, her teeth and claws bared as she took an accusing step forwards. “But sometimes she’s eight feet of unstoppable bonehead, okay!?”

There was something in Angella that had gotten used to hearing that tone on Glimmer’s lips, pushing her to throw away everything for wild, desperate acts that could never be worth the cost, blaming her after something that was well out of either of their control went awry, all but screaming out Angella’s cowardice with every word, and that part of her wanted to shout back. Catra didn’t even have the protection of being her daughter, how dare she take that tone with the Queen? But…

“And you expect me to punish you for that?” It was irrational, and it was exactly what Catra was expecting to happen, obliging her would do no good for anyone, least of all her. Angella took a deep breath, smoothing out the air with her hands to help force herself calm before clasping them together to hide the slight tremor in her arms. Catra blinked, even with how Angella had needed to keep a handle on her temper, the lack of retaliation was no doubt throwing her for a loop.

“That’s how this works.” Catra said it like a solemn truth, a fact of life that was part of the basic structure of the world she’d never had real cause to question before and was now frightened to find one.

Angella watched her for a moment, keeping her face carefully neutral as a restless fury settled itself across her bones. _Shadow Weaver;_ if Angella ever got the chance, she would gladly hold that witch’s head against a grinding wheel.

She closed her eyes and forced her jaw not to clench, taking a deep breath. Regardless, even if she could not directly confront Shadow Weaver, she needed to confront the damage she caused. She needed a way to work around it at the very least, for her own sake as much as Catra’s. She let out the breath and forced herself to relax; but how?

When Catra had returned from Plumeria she had all but swollen with pride when she’d gone to report on Glimmer and Adora. She could use that, by the Moons she hoped she could use that.

“Report,” she kept her voice level, not letting any of the rage still fading from her show, “tell me how Adora was injured.”

Catra blinked at her, needing a couple false starts before she was able to untense enough to speak again, but Angella simply waited, projecting patience as best she could. Let her unwind at her own pace, she needed to show her that she meant no harm. No rushing, not a word if she could avoid it.

Catra was surprisingly thorough, keeping nothing but exact words spoken out of her report. Her claws slowly began to retract as she relaxed enough to gesture with her hands. Her shoulders came down by the time she talked about the First Ones temple they’d found, and her expression began shifting in ways Angella could tell she wasn’t modulating once she began detailing how they’d discovered the Horde’s operation, her tone becoming almost conversational. 

Angella made careful note of Adora’s excuse for charging in basically alone. If they’d had a way to coordinate over that distance this entire situation could have been avoided. She’d been reckless, but there was a way to correct it, one that would be perfectly reasonable.

“-the crazy old bat was smacking him with her broom and screaming her own name,” Catra said with a laugh in her voice and Angella allowed herself a small smile. “Then the horse stomped on him and started doing loops-” Catra cut herself off, glancing over at her, a small fear in her gaze, like she was expecting consequences for meandering.

Angella nodded very slightly, not wanting to break her stride with any sudden movements. “Anyways,” Catra cleared her throat, remembering herself and forcing her report more flat again. “Then Adora cut the cannon in half and…” She trailed off, the tension in her shoulders returning.

Angella raised a hand, if she let her dwell on this part too long she was going to lose her progress.

“I gathered the rest.” Adora had stepped in front of it, likely looking to intimidate whoever was manning the machine, and they’d fired anyways. It was exactly the kind of foolishness Angella had been expecting if she was honest, but that could wait until Adora woke up. 

For now, as far as she could tell, Catra had been trying to keep a handle on things the entire time. “Catra,” Catra shrank back slightly and it gave Angella a moment’s pause but she pressed on, “you did exactly as you should have.” Catra’s ears shot up and she shifted back forward, more curious that afraid now, good.

When it didn’t seem that Catra was going to say anything, Angella continued, “you attempted to make her see reason, when that failed you stood with her to ensure she didn’t get in over her head, and then once she had you retrieved her and brought her back somewhere safe.”

Angella felt a smile tug at her lips, it reminded her of some of dear Micah’s earlier attempts at fighting the Horde, half the time she’d had to physically pick him up and wing him away from unwinnable battles with him still slinging spells at anyone who tried to follow them. “In that situation, the best anyone can expect from you is to keep up and hold things together if it goes wrong.”

She sighed, turning to glance out a window; how strange that Glimmer’s efforts so frightened her now, when such things had once drawn Angella to her father like a moth to candlelight. “It is better when we can convince them to do things the smart way, but with people like Adora and Glimmer that’s simply not always possible.” She turned back to Catra, “considering what you had to work with, you did an excellent job.”

Catra’s eyes went wide, her mouth all but dropping open. There was something desperate and adoring in her gaze, something that made Angella realize just how easy it would be to break her right now. 

Catra _needed_ this, needed it like breathing; with those few words, Angella had just laid a claim on her soul. As Catra reclaimed control of herself, that frightful devotion shifting back below the surface, Angella had to fight to keep herself from tensing and couldn’t help but wonder if Adora knew the terrible power she likely had over her.

“I- uh- didn’t hold things together,” Catra’s ears turned down and she forced her gaze away from Angella as she spoke, the guilt in her voice drawing Angella closer. “When Adora got shot I-” Her mouth snapped shut and Angella knew, but she also knew from experience that interrupting her now would only make it worse.

Catra visibly tensed as she forced the words out, “I thought she was dead.”

“Oh,” this would be why Catra had been shaken, this was why she’d worn grooves into the floor, why she looked so tired. Angella had felt this more times than she liked to think about. Catra needed to say it out loud before it would stop spiraling in her head.

“I panicked,” the words rushed out of Catra, her claws bared again, “I barely knew what was happening before I’d torn half of Grizzlor’s face off.” Angella closed her eyes, her mind casting back to the gut-wrenching moment she’d learned of Micah’s fall without her willing it to. “It was like-” Catra’s voice choked off and Angella took the opportunity to take control of herself back before she could join Catra in her spiral.

“Like the whole world fell out from under you,” she forced out, consciously relaxing her entire body to try and stave off the remembered panic. Angella maintained her composure as best she could and wondered, what would she have wanted to hear the first time she saw Micah disappear in a haze of smoke only to emerge after just too long for her heart to take? “I understand the feeling.” 

She opened her eyes and found Catra watching her at rapt, disbelieving attention. “Be happy you didn’t freeze the way I did.” Sympathy, assurance, experience; that’s what she would have wanted to hear, and that’s what she could now provide. “When Glimmer’s father died I became…” She trailed off, floundering for the words for a moment, how did one describe locking herself away in her room for weeks at a time, ignoring or driving away any who came to call? “Disconnected. I couldn’t think, I barely spoke. It was months before I put myself together enough to lead again.” A small, bitter scoff forced its way out of her, “some say I never did, and in that time the first alliance fell apart.”

Her mind swirled with the memory of emerging from her self-imposed exile to find everything she and her beloved had built turned to ash around her through her own negligence. The weight around her neck threatened to drag her back down and she shook her head to keep from dwelling on it. Catra didn’t need to see an old woman pity herself, she needed hope, they all needed hope, not despair.

So Angella gathered herself to keep speaking, “but Adora is alive, in part thanks to you, no matter how it may have felt in the moment.” Angella could see the fog of guilt being pushed back in Catra’s gaze and allowed her tone to lighten, “and hopefully, she’ll have learned something from this.”

“Not to step in front of tanks?” Catra scoffed, catching Angella off guard enough that she couldn’t help the laugh that forced its way out of her.

“Yes, and that she shouldn’t try to handle these kinds of things alone.” A moment of disarmed instinct bade her to raise a hand, to try and take Catra by the shoulder in assurance, but then she remembered how Catra had spooked when she’d gotten too close and let the hand fall. “And that even in the heat of the moment, sometimes the people around her really do know better.”

Something almost disappointed flickered through Catra’s eyes before she nodded, the roil of tension drawing her shoulders back up. Angella allowed herself an unguarded moment of concern, perhaps that wouldn’t be too much. “Catra, will you be alright?”

Catra puffed up, studying her and again Angella felt she might have overstepped, but the suspicion faded from Catra’s eyes, determination taking its place.

“Soon,” Catra’s voice was solid, certain, and Angella allowed her relief to show as she nodded.

“Good,” now was the time to disengage, any more and she was certain to overstay her welcome. “Once you are, and Adora has recovered, I would appreciate your tactical input. We will need to drive the Horde out of the area they’ve cleared before it can start regrowing.” It still felt callous, shifting right back into business after that, so she added, “you should check on Adora, I think it will help you.

Catra stood up straighter, her right hand twitching oddly. Had she been about to salute? Catra didn’t strike her as the saluting type. She didn’t want either of them to dwell on it, though, so she turned to leave without saying anything else.

As she headed back down the hall she turned her mind to Adora. She’d need Bow’s help to fix this problem, but hopefully her solution was versatile enough to help prevent other future recklessness before it even happened.

* * *

“A lot of this is left to chance,” General Sterling frowned, looking over the map. “Even if we’re able to get the hands needed to do this together and surprise them, we need the Woods to cooperate.” The General looked back to Angella, her eyes wary and surprised. Angella couldn’t blame her, when was the last time she had looked to attack instead of defend? “This is bold for you.”

“Numbers are less of a concern than usual, as is our enemy’s discipline.” Angella found herself almost feeling self-conscious as she justified her logic. “Catra and Adora have already incapacitated much of their firepower and their leadership in the area, all that’s left is lower ranking soldiers with little or no support; and if what I’ve been told of the Force Captian’s…” She trailed off, looking for an appropriate way to phrase it. 

‘Distinct lack of a face’ would certainly be accurate if Catra was to be believed, but she doubted the specifics were really necessary to take advantage of the Force Captain's absence. “...State, is accurate, it may be several days before they have any of that back. This is the single best opportunity we’ve had to break up a Horde offensive in years, and I believe I may have a solution to the problem of the Woods.” The General nodded and gestured for Angella to continue. “How temperamental the Whispering Woods are is first and foremost a problem of coordination, correct?”

“Unless it decides to give _everyone_ the runaround at the same time, yes.”

“Then if each squad can directly communicate with the others, and see their positions relative to each other, the problem should go away.”

“You have a way to do this?” Sterling blinked, “where did you get it, the historians’ boy?”

“By my understanding it is still somewhat experimental, but yes. Glimmer’s little excursion last week was apparently a test run, and it was reliable enough to lead them to the Sword of Protection, and then to Thaymore.”

“If it works that well, we could use the Whispering Woods to transport soldiers and supplies reliably.” Sterling muttered, running a finger along the map.

“Exactly, which will save us time, and allow us to move our forces outside of the Horde’s view.”

“If the Woods became a causeway, that would also allow the Kingdom of the Snows to support the other Kingdoms,” the General gestured towards the north side of the map, a hopeful smile beginning to tug at her face, “without forcing them to funnel their soldiers through the tundra separating them from the Horde.”

Angella hummed to herself, a simple gesture calling up the northern territory of the Whispering Woods on the map. That had been the primary concern of Princess Frosta’s mother; the Kingdom of Snows didn’t afford much in the way of cover, so any major movement across it was an open invitation to artillery.

“Perhaps we should reopen talks with Princess Entrapta,” Angella murmured, “once we have units to spare, Dryl’s ability to mass produce will be invaluable.” She shook her head, “but that is a consideration for a later date, at the moment the Horde is attempting to raze the Wood, with uncomfortable success. Right now, this is our foremost concern.”

The door swung open, drawing Angella’s eyes away from the table. Catra all but swaggered in, still wearing a bathrobe; right, she’d forgotten to send for a seamstress. She needed to do that. Still, this was hardly an opportune moment for her to interrupt. 

Nonetheless, she was here, so something must have happened. Angella stood, offering the General a quick nod to ensure she knew they weren’t done yet. “Catra, has something happened?”

Adora stumbled through the doorway after her. She seemed slightly out of breath as she took Catra by the shoulder and stepped forward, but beyond that there was no evidence of her earlier state.

“I’m sorry we interrupted you,” Catra pulled away from her, making a show of rolling her eyes. “It won’t happen again.” Angella turned her attention to studying Adora for a moment. She looked steady, if a little scattered. She sighed quietly to herself, she’d needed to speak with her anyhow, it shouldn’t take her too long.

“Ah, you’re awake, good.” She turned to the General, “this shouldn’t take long.” She saluted and stepped back, taking up a position next to Angella’s chair like a bodyguard. Angella crooked an eyebrow at her, but all she received in return was a curt nod.

No matter, Angella set herself back down into her chair and beaconed Adora closer. “I asked Catra to bring you to me once you were recovered, how are you feeling?” She cast a glance towards the door and spotted both Glimmer and Bow lurking in the frame, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves. Well, that made three different things she needed to have done that had stepped forward to ensure they were not overlooked; she supposed this interruption was something of a blessing in disguise. “Glimmer, Bow, you may enter as well. I have need of Bow’s expertise.”

“Yes ma’am,” Bow snapped to attention, obviously embarrassed to have been caught out. Glimmer trailed silently behind him, her shoulders up around her ears; she wasn’t looking forward to this.

As the others took their seats, Adora remained where she stood, her face growing paler. Angella felt her brow furrow with concern; should she really be up and about so soon? Adora startled, stepping towards the table.

“I’m good,” she let out a weak chuckle as she took her seat, “good as new.” Angella let her eyes flick to Catra, who seemed equally unconvinced by that.

“Yes, one wouldn’t think you’d been shot.” She pressed and Adora flinched back; too much, but this needed to happen. She smoothed out her voice as she continued, “that is one of the first things I wanted to speak with you about.”

“...Should we be here for this?” Glimmer asked, her eyes shifting between Adora and Angella, before she shrank beneath her mother’s attention.

It was all Angella could do not to sigh, drawing herself up straight and steepling her fingers.

“Yes, Glimmer. You said you would be responsible for them, now one has run off half-cocked and been injured as a result.” She paused a moment, nodding towards Adora, “these are your soldiers, Commander.” This was a facet of command that Glimmer had yet to experience; as much as Adora’s actions were her own, Glimmer also stood to accept the fallout of anything that may entail.

Adora puffed up, some of the colour returning to her face.

“I was-”

“Concerned with our response time, I know.” Angella nodded firmly at her, they weren’t in so much trouble that Glimmer needed defending. “Which has brought my attention to a rather glaring flaw in our current structure. Communication.” Which brought her to Bow, “your tracker pad, how many do you suppose you could make in a week’s time?”

“Maybe a dozen, your Majesty,” he blurted out, tense enough that Angella couldn’t help wincing slightly at the sight of it. “With the right equipment.”

“Then I will see that you get it,” she assured him. “I would like the first three that you make issued to myself, Glimmer, and Adora.” She turned back to Adora, letting steel into her gaze. She was not to be questioned on this. “Adora, once you have yours, you are to keep it on your person at all times. If you find yourself in a situation like the one this morning you are to put out a call to Glimmer or myself, and wait until either you have confirmed that reinforcements have arrived or we give the order, before you make any further moves. Understood?”

“Understood, your Majesty.” Adora nodded, glancing down at the table.

“Until then,” Angella called her attention back, “you are not to leave the castle grounds.”

Adora stiffened, confusion spreading across her face.

“Your Majesty?” She asked, her eyes flicking towards Glimmer.

“We do not have the manpower to keep a guard detail on you,” Angella explained, keeping her voice level. “Our position is delicate, Adora, we cannot afford to lose any of our key players. Until we have a better way to ensure you do not pull another stunt like this,” which they soon would, “we will simply keep you away from the line of fire.”

“But what if someone else is in trouble?” Adora sputtered and Angella could all but see the wheels turning behind her eyes. If she could survive this, what was to stop her from surviving the next disaster? Why should she stand back if she could sacrifice herself? The self-martyring invincibility of Heroes.

“If we’re doing our jobs, no one will be,” it took more than Angella was comfortable admitting to remain calm with that rattling around in her mind.

“But anyone else would-” of course she wouldn’t be able to leave it alone.

“That is _exactly_ my point, Adora. You can survive a frankly incredible amount of harm, but did you know that when you stepped in front of a cannon?”

“Well, no,” Adora admitted, with the air of one who didn’t see what difference that made. As if it would still have been worth it if she had died.

_It’s fine, Angie. We won, didn’t we?_

“If you were anyone- and I do mean _anyone_ \- else,” Angella felt her temper flare, her eyes narrowing and her feathers itching as she set her hands flat on the table and the words rushed out of her before she could get a grip on them, “we would not be having this conversation. Your life is not something to risk so carelessly, and I will not leave it to chance again.”

Adora’s bearing changed completely and immediately. Her back straightened with a sharp intake of breath before her body went utterly still, her face went blank and her pupils shrunk to points.

“Yes Ma’am.” Her voice came out flat and mechanical. Angella stared for a long moment, her own breath stilled by what she could only describe as the terror reaction Adora was caught in. She swallowed, her mind casting about uselessly for something to say.

Too much again; she’d forgotten herself, and who knew what nightmare she’d just pushed Adora into as a result.

Angella knew. She _recognized_ this, and to see it again, to be its cause, was like a dagger in her gut.

Her eyes darted to Catra, who didn’t seem to have even noticed what had just happened, her gaze almost bored as she watched the map still in place on the table.

Perhaps… Angella gathered herself, turning her attention entirely onto Adora again.

“You are dismissed,” she offered, all she could do not to let it sound like a prayer. “We will discuss the situation in the Whispering Woods tomorrow.”

Motion returned to Adora, her shoulders falling from their eerily perfect squared position as she nodded, sharp and quick, she likely didn’t trust her own body after that.

“Thanks mom, bye,” Glimmer chirped, a forced, toothy grin on her face as she took Adora by the hand and disappeared.

“Uh-” Bow started, but Angella raised a hand for silence, she needed a moment longer than that.

“That goes for all of you,” she glanced back at the General, her cowardly impulse not daring to let Angella look her in the eye. She’d known Micah well, she’d no doubt recognized Adora’s reaction as well. “You are dismissed.”

Angella kept her eyes down on the table, her wings pulled in tight at her sides. Catra’s chair scraped harshly across the floor as she rose, trailing Bow- who was murmuring apologies- behind her as she left the room to find Adora and Glimmer.

“...Angella?” Sterling hazarded once the door was closed again, her voice careful as the day she’d reopened her court. Angella still couldn’t make herself look.

“I will be well, General. I have simply overexerted myself.” She squeezed her hands tighter together, “leave me, please.”

“I… Yes, your Majesty.” Sterling relented and took her leave.

Angella bowed her head and closed her eyes against the sting. She was so tired.


	15. Liar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora is introduced to "food preparation."  
> Catra distracts herself with a puzzle.  
> A promise affirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it says Slow Burn up there, but I would like you all to be advised that when things do happen I drop a brick on the gas for a little bit.

Catra was still mad at her. It had shifted a little, she was no longer giving her sharp looks, but she was making a point to stand outside of Adora’s reach. Which was fair, she supposed. Catra had her way of dealing with things, Adora had hers. Though, if Catra had almost died Adora was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to keep herself from hovering.

Bow had insisted they head down to the kitchens for a late lunch when they’d grouped back up, right after Catra had pulled out the last glare she’d needed. Adora had done her best to look properly cowed; it had been easy, she was still feeling vaguely terrified after what had happened with the Queen and Catra had a glare that could melt steel when she really wanted to use it. There hadn’t really been much doing involved on her part if she was honest.

“What are you doing!?” Bow’s horrified gasp brought Adora back to the moment and she shook her head, glancing over at Catra to find her standing in front of the ‘refrigerator’ thing that dominated the far wall of the kitchen. She had a container of eggs in one hand, and one that it appeared she’d taken a determined bite out of in her other. She crooked a brow and swallowed heavily.

“Eating?” She provided, spitting the shell into a nearby trash can before upending the remaining contents of the egg into her mouth. Bow turned an interesting shade of green while Glimmer just stared straight ahead, trying very hard not to grin and failing spectacularly enough that it looked like something was forcibly pulling on her face.

“What’s wrong?” Adora asked, blinking, “you didn’t say anything about it on the way to Plumeria.”

“Those were _raw!?_ ” Bow all but shrieked, Glimmer lost the fight for her self control and broke out into gleeful cackles. “I thought they were soft-boiled!” He wheeled on Adora, grabbing her by the shoulders. “ _Please_ tell me you two haven’t been living like this since you got here.”

“There’s something that tastes kinda like the brown bars we’ve been getting out of this drawer here, too.” Catra kicked the fridge open again and slid the eggs back before pulling a bundle of something that had been wrapped up in waxy paper from said drawer. Neither of them were sure what it was called, unlike the eggs it hadn’t been labelled.

“You’ve been living off of raw eggs and lunchmeat!?” Bow squawked, shaking Adora. Glimmer’s laughter turned into a prolonged wheeze and she doubled over, clutching at her stomach. “You’ve had real food, Adora, how did you let this happen?”

“You mean, those biscuits and things?” Adora asked, her head spinning a little. “I... couldn’t find anything like that.” Which had been disappointing, she’d wanted to show Catra. “Are those not a ‘party only’ thing?” Bow stared at her like she’d just told him the world was flat. “...What’s ‘raw’ mean?” Adora hazarded, feeling a little like she’d just been dumped headfirst into a training exercise with no idea what the objective was.

Bow got a faraway look in his eyes at that, his hands on her shoulders going slack.

“What did they feed you people?” He asked in a horrified whisper, causing another fit of breathless laughter to drift over from Glimmer. After taking a long look into his wide-eyed stare- was he starting to cry?- Adora decided keeping her mouth shut was the best plan.

“Your face! Oh First Ones-” Glimmer panted out between laughs. A flicker of understanding sparked life back into Bow’s eyes and he released Adora, which she took as her queue to step away from him before he exploded or something.

“You _knew._ ” He hissed, turning and pointing an accusing finger at Glimmer. Glimmer was helpless to escape, laughing too hard to do anything more than stand there and try not to fall over. “You knew and you _let this happen!_ ” Bow ventured off into a tirade that Adora couldn’t understand half of and only had Glimmer laughing harder.

Off on the sidelines Catra sauntered over to Adora, passing her the bundle of ‘lunchmeat’ and crossing her arms with a smirk.

“I have no idea what just happened,” Adora said, blinking as she watched Bow’s steam steadily run out.

“Apparently we’re eating food bad and it’s Glimmer’s fault,” Catra shrugged back.

“You can eat wrong?” Adora felt her brow furrow; that was like breathing wrong, doing it without choking didn’t sound possible.

“Apparently,” Catra’s eyes darted down to Adora’s hands. She hadn’t made a move to take any of the lunchmeat, unsure what the protocol was to eating it, since apparently there was protocol. “If you’re not gonna take any of that I’m still hungry.”

“No!” Bow roared, moving faster than Adora had ever seen him manage before to snatch the parcel out of her hands. “I am going to make you an actual meal if it kills me,” he said with deadly seriousness, prompting more giggles from Glimmer.

He took a deep breath and stood up straighter, the smile on his face as friendly as it was desperately furious. “Go sit down and I’ll get you a snack to tide you over until I get you some _real_ food.” He pointed to the table on the other side of the room. 

Adora and Glimmer obeyed without any more fuss, but Catra leaned towards him quickly to grab a slice of lunchmeat out of the bag, setting off another round of sputtering protests from him as he tried to both hold the rest of it out of her reach and take the one she’d grabbed back at the same time. Catra was able to hold off the uncoordinated attack easily, grinning at him as she took a bite out of it and he deflated with a small whimper.

Glimmer was once again doing a bad job of containing her giggles as Catra joined them, sitting across from Adora and stuffing the rest of her ill-gotten goods into her mouth before pointing at Glimmer.

“Explain,” she demanded through a mouthful of meat, the venom having left her stare. Glimmer needed to take a couple deep breaths before she started to get her laughter under control.

“Okay, what did you guys eat in the Fright Zone?”

“Ration bars,” Adora said, blinking.

“Any idea what those are made of?”

“Brown and grey,” Catra provided, though her eyes flicked down to the table thoughtfully. Adora found herself at a bit of a loss too, it hadn’t really occurred to her to think about what they were made of. With ration bars you spent most of the time they were in your mouth trying not to think about them at all.

“...Shadow Weaver said something about ‘protein supplements’ or something that one time?” She looked over to Catra for some kind of confirmation, but Catra didn’t seem to be paying attention to her. Right, still angry; Adora sunk in her chair a little.

“Okay,” Glimmer said slowly, her face twisting a little as she seemed to consider how to explain it. “Let’s say the ration bars are made of protein supplements, water, and- I dunno- cardboard. Given Adora’s reaction to real food the first time that’d make sense. What you guys have been doing is basically eating all of those things separately.” 

Adora felt her brow furrow but Glimmer cut her off at the pass. “I noticed on the way to Plumeria, I was _going_ to say something, but then I had an idea.” She chuckled to herself, “Bow takes food very seriously; if he knew, there’s no way you would have still been doing it. Which means if you _were_ doing it...” she trailed off, looking at Adora significantly.

“He didn’t know,” Catra said, a grin starting to tug at her face again now that she was sure the joke wasn’t on her. “So all you had to do was keep your mouth shut and he’d stumble on the landmine himself.”

“Exactly,” Glimmer’s hair twinkled as she grinned back at Catra. “Plus, he’s a great cook, and he’s absolutely gonna go out of his way to make sure we all eat properly for like a month after this. Totally worth it.” Catra frowned appreciatively and nodded.

“Well played.”

“Thats…” Adora blinked slowly, trying to wrap her head around the interpersonal gymnastics she’d just been presented with. “...Diabolical.”

A bowl filled with lots of hard, angular, off-white somethings slid onto the table.

“These are chips, you actually _can_ eat these right out of the bag.” Bow said, still holding a pair of bright orange spheres in one hand. “And these are Oranges, don’t just bite into them, you’re supposed to peel off the skin first.” He tossed one of them to Catra, “like this,” he demonstrated peeling the orange before passing that one over to Adora. He turned to Glimmer, narrowing his eyes, “and no, I’m making sure these two eat right until they learn to cook, but you’re on your own.”

“Aww, come on!” Glimmer protested half-heartedly, still smiling to herself.

“If you wanted me to make you something, all you had to do was ask.” Bow admonished with a touch of playfulness, turning up his nose at her. “Not pull people who don’t know better into your schemes.” Adora felt a smile tugging at her own face as she watched them, bringing up the orange to take a bite.

Sweet, sharp-tasting liquid blasted into her mouth, leaving her sputtering and coughing as it sprayed against the back of her throat. She heard Glimmer and Catra snort with laughter at the same time and Bow hiss through his teeth. “Ooh, yeah, should have warned you, oranges are more juice than anything else.”

“Thanks-” Adora coughed out, making a mental note to be more careful next time. “Agh- burns-” It felt like some of it was trying to work its way out her nose.

“...And you’re supposed to separate it up into pieces instead of just biting it. Helps keep it from squirting all over the place.”

“Okay,” Catra chuckled, “how about from now on you just assume we know nothing at all?”

“Deal,” Bow said sheepishly, backing away again.

Once Adora got her breathing back under control she pulled apart the rest of the orange, eyeing it for a second before popping one of the sections into her mouth. It was a much more pleasant experience; that sharp flavour didn’t burn on her tongue like it did in the back of her throat, the sweetness wasn’t as overwhelming as it had been on the ‘cakes’ she’d had before, and the feeling of it in her mouth was rather nice.

She hummed, pleased, and threw Catra a thumbs up before swallowing. Catra crooked a brow and got to work peeling her own, her claws making quick- if a bit sloppy- work of it. Boredom flashed across her face for a moment as she put a wedge into her mouth, but she blinked and seemed to catch herself, biting down slowly into it.

There was a moment of valiant effort; Catra’s pupils blew wide but she tried to keep the rest of her face neutral as she chewed, then as soon as she swallowed she popped two more wedges into her mouth, a blissful smile stretching across her face as a purr forced its way out of her.

“I told you the food here was good.” Adora couldn’t help teasing, Catra waved her off wordlessly, already moving on to snatch the bowl of chips over to her side of the table. “Hey, we’re supposed to share those!” Catra held the bowl up over her head as Adora lunged for it, making a show of keeping it out of Adora’s reach, her eyes twinkling with mischief, but after a few moments she ultimately relented, taking a handful of chips out of the bowl before putting it back down in the middle of the table.

Once the bowl was empty and the oranges devoured, Adora found her mind turning back to what the Queen might have been discussing with the General when Catra had barged in on them. “What do you think the Queen’s next move is?”

“She’s trying to push the Horde’s operation out of the woods,” Catra shrugged, picking at her teeth.

“What, really?” Glimmer asked, leaning forward in her seat. “How do you know?”

“She’s looking over what you’ve managed to map, she needs more of Bow’s tracker pads,” Catra nodded towards Adora, “and she’s making sure she knows where our heavy hitter is until she’s ready to do it. She’s prepping the offensive.”

“Finally,” Glimmer groaned, leaning down onto the table dramatically. “I’ve been trying to get her to do something for _years._ ”

“She’s been handed an opportunity on a platter,” Catra snipped, “she’d have to be an idiot not to take it.”

“She’s passed up plenty of others,” Glimmer snapped back, “there was one time the Horde started establishing a base right _between_ three of ours, we could have driven them back easy. Instead now we’re stuck in a holding pattern there.” Adora considered it for a moment as Catra hummed and her eyes flicked down.

“Actually, she might have been right about that,” Adora said, drawing Glimmer’s and Catra’s eyes to her. There was something about saying it that felt wrong, setting something wary thrumming through her and forcing her eyes to scan across the shadows of the room, but she continued on. “Well, when a base is first being established, that’s when security is tightest. Everything’s supposed to be brought up forward at once; the Force Captain in charge makes sure there’s a larger force there than the base is meant to sustain for specifically that reason, and that’s on top of the clearing equipment and the tank squads meant to push out wildlife and hostile parties in the area. So, yeah, theoretically when they’re setting up should be when they’re at their most vulnerable, but the Horde compensates for the lack of defensive structures by cranking up the offensive power so anyone who tries to take advantage won’t be able to do it again.”

“Oh,” Glimmer murmured, Catra grimaced.

“The best time to hit a new base is actually about two months after it’s fully established.” Adora kept talking, half to herself at this point, her gaze drifting up towards the ceiling as she thought. She’d been taught all these protocols and how to best cover the inevitable gap moments they caused, but she’d never had to turn her mind on how to use them to her advantage to take a base down. “That’s when the excess manpower is pulled out, but it rarely lines up right with the standardized resupply schedule, so the base is usually left undersupplied for a day or two. You’ll still have the wall guns to contend with, but the people inside- especially the Arms Minders- tend to be having moral problems, so they’ll be easier to spook. And, well, ‘scared soldiers are dead soldiers,’ as our teachers used to say.”

She looked back down and Glimmer was watching her intently, looking a bit like she’d just seen Adora catch an arrow out of the air. Catra’s brow was furrowed and she was mouthing something to herself, her eyes darting around like she was reading something in her head, her planning face.

Adora swelled with that unnamed emotion when she saw it, she’d seen more of Catra caring what happened in the last four days than she’d seen in the last four _years_ with the Horde. Each time she did it beat back the quiet part of her that was worried this had all been a mistake.

“Force Captain Orientation?” Glimmer asked, shaking herself back to the moment.

“Yeah,” she rubbed the back of her neck bashfully, she hadn’t meant to get that carried away. “They don’t like to advertise it to cadets, but Force Captains need to know about that kind of stuff and prepare for it.” She rolled her eyes, “even if their advice mostly boiled down to ‘yell a lot and hope you don’t get hit right here or here.’”

She blinked as she remembered something, “I brought the manual they gave us with when we escaped. If we’re lucky they haven’t noticed one missing, and even once they do, that’s _all_ the protocols, it’ll take a complete overhaul before it’s irrelevant. A couple days with that and you’d know enough to take a base apart and put it back together blindfolded.”

“Ugh, don’t bother,” Catra groaned playfully, “it reads like bot instructions, better we leave it to the nerds like Adora.”

“Fine,” Adora huffed back with a grin, “Bow and I will know the in and outs of all this stuff, and you two will have to come to us about _everything_.”

“Lumping Bow in with you on the Nerd Train, that’s harsh; he’s not even here to defend himself.”

“Pfft,” Glimmer rolled her eyes, “Bow’s the biggest nerd on the planet, he practically has a badge, he’ll be glad to be on board.”

“On board for what?” Bow asked, all innocence as he walked back over, having found an apron somewhere. Adora couldn’t help laughing as Glimmer was left to try and explain without incriminating herself. Catra probably could have helped it, but she didn’t try.

The “omelettes” were delicious, and it helped distract her from the especially long shadow in the corner she couldn’t seem to stop checking on.

* * *

Catra didn’t let Adora out of her sight the entire rest of the day; she made sure Adora knew she wasn’t happy about it, though. It was… easy was the wrong word. Adora seemed to keep forgetting that she’d messed up, all it took was Catra letting herself unwind just a little and it was like she thought all was forgiven. She’d always been that way, and it was beyond frustrating, but knowing that didn’t make the shocked look on her face when Catra kept her distance or brushed away her hand any less of a weight on her conscience.

Adora had a way with hurt but accepting eyes that made it difficult not to feel like a jerk for staying mad at her. It was like she didn’t understand what the problem was. Then again, with how she hadn’t picked up on the Horde she might genuinely not, but that wasn’t Catra’s responsibility, not really.

Catra didn’t have any way to tell her that wouldn’t be worse than her just not figuring it out on her own.

She wasn’t gonna hold it over her head for long, if Adora wasn’t allowed to leave the castle for a few days it would be a waste of time not to have her around to explore the place properly. She hadn’t seen the roof yet, and it felt sort of pointless to see it without Adora there. Thinking like that helped her feel like less of a heel.

“You’re sure you can’t spend the night?” Glimmer asked Bow, she and Adora had apparently been looking forward to continuing the whole sleepover situation.

“Not tonight,” he shook his head, “if I’m gonna be making a lot of the Tracker Pads I’ll need to move stuff out of my workshop.” He chuckled nervously, “it’s not really a big enough space to be working on more than one of anything at a time.” His eyes drifted away, there was more to that he wasn’t saying, but Catra would figure it out another time. “I should be back tomorrow, though.” He smiled softly and Glimmer deflated a little.

“Yeah, be safe.”

“I’ll make sure I’m actually here in the morning,” Adora joked, like she hadn’t spent the time she was gone being shot at. Bow winced a little and Catra had to hand him that at least he hadn’t forgotten.

“This is fun and all,” Catra said, rolling her eyes, “but it’s been a long day and I’m tired. Seeya.” She waved him off and he smiled strangely, like he’d just taken a peek into her thoughts and found what he’d seen charming.

The joke was on him, though, if he really could read her he’d be far from smiling.

The sky was cascading with colour as he left, night quickly approaching. Moonsets were so much more outside the Fright Zone, back there things just got vaguely darker until the only lights were artificial; Catra found it increasingly difficult not to stare each time she saw it.

Adora yawned, even if she’d been passed out for a few hours today, Catra doubted that counted for more than a nap; she’d be sleeping pretty soundly tonight, the perfect time to secret away Shadow Weaver’s gem.

“Um,” Glimmer started, drawing their attention, “I think I’ll sleep in my room tonight.” She toyed with her fingers as Catra raised an eyebrow at her and Adora blinked, “it’s just, if it’s all four of us it’s fine, but I kinda feel like I’ll be… intruding, on you two if it’s only me.” Adora’s expression pinched, unsure what Glimmer was referring to. Catra didn’t really know either, but that was one less person to sneak around tonight, so she wasn’t about to stop her.

“That’s fine,” Adora said, throwing a half-hearted smile Catra’s way, “we’ll have the room to ourselves then, I guess.” Catra caught Glimmer blushing out of the corner of her eye before she teleported away and was left wondering what that was about.

Adora seemed nervous on the way back to their room, her eyes kept darting around everywhere but Catra. Perhaps she had pressed a little too hard, that happened sometimes, but the cure for it was pretty easy.

“...You're tense, wanna go hit something?

“Huh?” Adora jolted a little, “no- maybe? Sorry.” She shook her head, “I’m just feeling…” her hands came up to grip at the air in front of her while she searched for the right word, “exposed.”

“Being shot’ll do that to ya,” Catra drawled, unsure if she should be feeling relieved or not that it was actually affecting her.

“That might be it,” she grumbled, but she didn’t sound particularly convinced. Catra felt a flash of irritation; ‘might be it,’ of course that was- she missed a step.

Angella still, really? Now she had to hold in a growl; but if she wanted to keep this from getting any worse she’d need to get it out of her head.

“You don’t need to tiptoe around it,” she offered instead, watching as Adora’s eyes widened a little, same way they always did when she was worried about who might be listening. She’d hit the nail on the head.

“Look, not out here.” Adora’s gaze flicked up and down the hall, “like I said, exposed.” Catra forced a nonchalant shrug.

“We’re headed to bed anyways.” The silence between them the rest of the way back to their room was tense, Catra had been added to the list of things Adora was watching very carefully, and Catra had to be deliberate about what her ears were doing. Even tilting them towards Adora might feed her paranoia, and then there’d be even more problems.

Catra leaned against the door to keep it closed once they were inside the room and Adora began deflating. Catra watched her shoulders untense with a quirked ear, she’d already come to think of their room as a safe haven; wonder what triggered that.

She waited until Adora took a deep breath to say anything. “Spill.”

“Do you-” Adora’s voice strangled out and she looked away, her face creased with confusion and something that looked embarrassed. “Do you really trust the Queen?”

“I don’t trust anyone,” Catra scoffed, “other than you, anyways.” Even that felt like a lie now, and she had to keep herself from checking if the bed was as she’d left it. “Angella’s fine, though.”

“She hasn’t done anything- wouldn’t do anything to you, would she?”

“No, she hasn’t, she wouldn’t, and she won’t.” Catra answered her, keeping her gaze steady on Adora’s searching eyes. “Even if she wanted to, all I’d have to do is say the word and we’re gone, right? Not like they can afford to lose you.” Adora went stiff for a second, her eyes conflicted before they hardened and she nodded. That was interesting.

“Can you tell me what she keeps talking to you about?” Adora’s voice was desperate, like she was looking for something stable to hold onto. Catra blinked, maybe this was running a bit deeper than she’d thought it was. She watched her for a moment longer, considering.

Angella had said not to tell them, but that had been because Glimmer already resented her. Adora would still listen to her, as much as she did about anything.

“Fine,” she grunted, “but I need you to promise not to tell Glimmer.”

“Why not Glimmer?” Adora raised a brow.

“Because it’s about both of you,” she crossed her arms, “and if Glimmer finds out she’ll be ticked.”

“Okay,” Adora gave her another searching look, “I promise not to tell.”

“She doesn’t trust you.” Catra raised a hand to cut Adora off before she could open her mouth. “She trusts you to get the job done and keep Glimmer safe, sure. She knows there’s basically nothing you wouldn’t do for her and the whole cause,” she couldn’t help rolling her eyes at the idea. “Anyone who spends more than ten minutes around you would be able to tell that. But, see, that’s the problem.” Confusion etched itself across Adora’s face. “She thinks you’re going to be a bad influence on Glimmer, who’s _already_ like that; and she’s worried you’re going to do something stupid to get yourself killed. Which…” She trailed off, letting Adora fill in the blank. She deflated, driving a hand into her forehead.

“Which I nearly did,” she grumbled unhappily. “She wants you to make sure we think before we do things.”

“Exactly.”

“And you’re checking in with her so she knows you’re doing it.” Adora sat down heavily on the bed with a groan.

“Now you’re getting it.” Catra sauntered over to sit on the foot of it. “She actually didn’t say I needed to be checking in with her, apparently just seeing the two of you alive and in one piece is enough for her.”

“Then why do you?” Adora asked, glancing over at her, something hunted still sitting in her eyes. That was the question, wasn’t it?

_You did exactly as you should have._

“It’s nice,” Catra shrugged, “she’s nice. I- well… You’re a handful sometimes, you know that, right?”

“You’d know,” Adora gave a weak smile.

“I’m serious,” Catra snapped, her eyes narrowing before she could stop it, “and not just because I lugged you through the forest.” Adora watched her for a second before she turned away.

“I try not to be.”

“You-” Catra’s bit off the words before she could say something she’d regret. Adora really was trying. It was just that she sometimes forgot where her responsibilities ended and other people began. Catra took a breath. “I know, but you always want to push, you wanna make everything your problem, and sometimes that steps on toes. Usually mine.” Adora winced and Catra sighed, “you see?” Adora nodded.

Catra took a moment to gather her thoughts. “With Angella, she knows what it’s like worrying about someone like that, so I can talk to her without worrying about you working yourself up trying to fix it. And don’t start with me,” she pointed a finger at Adora’s slightly offended expression, “you’re already thinking of ways to do it, I know you are.”

“You don’t want me to?”

“...Sometimes, maybe,” Catra shook her head, that was a confusing tangle of feelings. Yes, it drove her up a wall, but, “I don’t think you’d still be _you_ if you weren’t trying to take care of people, though. What I really want, is for you to figure out when you actually need to.” Adora nodded, her brow still furrowed, but the desperate edge to her gaze was gone.

Catra let her guard down a little. “That help?”

“Not really,” Adora admitted closing her eyes tight. “It should, but I just-” she let out a frustrated groan, “I don’t feel safe.” Catra blinked, “I know I should, I know we’re away from the Horde, I know Shadow Weaver can’t get to us here, but it feels like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which doesn’t even make any sense, cause it already _did_ when I found out we were the bad guys.”

Adora flopped back onto the bed, gesturing helplessly up at the ceiling. “I saw the Queen keeping an eye on you and thought ‘there it is, that’ll be the problem,’ but it’s not, and honestly I already knew that. Glimmer would be a lot more careful around her if she was the kind of person who would do that.”

She took a deep breath, her entire body tensing before she opened her eyes, glancing over to Catra with a tired sort of paranoia. It was close enough to her default expression that Catra had to suppress a shudder. “It feels like any minute now I’m going to turn around and Shadow Weaver will be there, asking if I’ve enjoyed my break in that tone she got when she caught us doing things we weren’t supposed to and wanted me to say something stupid. The only place I feel like I don’t need to watch the shadows is-” she coughed and turned away, smoothing out the sheets around herself. “Right here, and I don’t get why.”

Catra watched her for a moment, wondering if Adora could feel it, that the Rebellion was doomed to fail. She didn’t think so, Adora had never been good at reading the flow of things. She was the sort of person who didn’t realize she’d lost until someone knocked her over the head.

Adora didn’t see which way the wind was blowing, this was something else. Catra watched the frightened thoughts racing behind Adora’s eyes and found herself wondering, had she ever _not_ seen that happening at least a little?

A chill went up Catra’s spine and she couldn’t stop her eyes flicking over to the far side of the bed, where she’d stashed the gem. Something painful and sticking was settling into her gut, and she needed to know.

“Adora… were you happy in the Horde?” She asked, refusing to let her voice tremble.

“Yes, of course!” Adora spoke too quickly, jolting upright, all tension. It was pure reflex. Catra wanted to believe her, she wanted to so badly, but that wouldn’t help her, not right now. So instead she just silently raised a brow at her. “Maybe?” Adora shrank under the scrutiny, turning away again. “...I don’t think so.” 

The words dropped out of her mouth like lead, like it hurt as much to say them as it would have to keep them in. “I thought I was, but now- now I’m not so sure.” Adora curled in on herself a little and Catra knew why because she felt it too. It felt like she was betraying their promise. It was supposed to be okay, as long as they were together they were supposed to be okay; this was admitting that they hadn’t been.

She came back, though. As soon as she thought she knew how to do it, Adora had come back for her to make sure it would _be_ okay. The promise _held_.

“Were you scared?” Catra asked, and she wasn’t quite sure when she meant.

“Were you ever not?” Catra’s mouth snapped shut, it was the sort of answer she’d been dreading, and something terrible clicked into place.

Shadow Weaver loomed like an axe over every part of life in the Fright Zone. Every word said, every action taken, you had to assume Shadow Weaver knew, and if she didn’t, you had to assume she’d find out. That was why being her golden child was such a double-edged sword. Adora had been on the fast track, sure, but she and the people around her also had more of that caustic attention on them than anyone else. She knew that.

Shadow Weaver had always said the only reason she didn’t kill Catra was because Adora cared about her, but as terrifying as that was, as much as it had hurt it was a safety net. As long as Adora was around, Shadow Weaver would just have to put up with her. She knew, she _knew_.

What had that looked like from Adora’s side of things? To know her best friend’s life hung by the thread of a fickle, cruel commanding officer’s interest in her?

Had Catra’s lifeline been the noose around Adora’s neck?

Something that felt like the earth yawning open beneath her began to sneak up. Catra’s plan ended in them going back to the Horde. She turned away, she didn’t want to see it. She couldn’t, she _couldn’t-_

“Maybe that’s it?” Adora blinked and Catra looked away to hide whatever part of her thoughts might be leaking onto her face before she kept speaking, forcing her tone and mind even. “Hear me out; maybe you’ve never _not_ had a reason to be scared before, so now that you do it’s hard to really believe it.”

It wasn’t true. Catra knew they weren’t safe, they were just barely keeping pace with the eye of a storm that would swallow them both if Catra didn’t play it just right; and part of that play was keeping Adora in the dark. Right now the important part was that they seemed safe and it was wreaking havoc on Adora’s nerves, nerves that had been tuned for a place where safety was something you were told you had but never felt.

“But what about-”

“Could I have stopped her?” Catra snapped, “could any of us have stopped her?”

“...Catra,” Adora’s voice came out pleading but she didn’t look, she still didn’t have a handle on her face. Calm down, she needed to calm down. “Catra, please,” one of Adora’s hands found her shoulder.

That jealous part of her- the part that wanted everything Adora had gotten in the Fright Zone- wanted to shove her away; it wanted to be angry, to shout and burn. How dare _she_ be afraid? After all the times Adora had stood aside, how dare she? But right now its grip was weak, there was a serene sort of stillness helping the part of her that just didn’t want to see Adora in pain pull in the opposite direction, a voice that almost sounded like Angella.

Don’t freeze, it whispered, don’t freeze and don’t burn. Adora needed her, maybe even more than Catra had needed Adora.

She forced herself to look, and found Adora looking back. Her eyes were so soft, apologizing with a look even though it wasn’t her fault, not really. “Maybe you’re right,” she murmured, her hand on Catra’s shoulder squeezing. “Maybe I’m just too used to having to look over my shoulder; but Catra, you helped. I felt- I _feel_ safe when I’m with you.”

Something Catra only recognized in flashes, in the fractions of a second before Adora would look away from her, passed through Adora’s eyes. This time she didn’t let her. This time when Adora moved to look away Catra raised her hand, bringing it up to cup the back of Adora’s head- not her face, Adora would flinch away from her if something touched her cheek- to keep studying the expression.

Adora’s eyes widened and there was something heady about the way her breath caught, suddenly looking like she was reconsidering what she’d been about to say next but was too far down the line to stop. “When you’re happy,” she swallowed, “that’s- that’s when I feel safe.” Adora began to lean into the touch, her eyes soft with that hidden emotion even as her face was steadily growing redder while Catra tried to decode it.

It was warm, so warm and soft it might as well have been molten as Adora’s gaze locked on hers. She looked entranced, gently pressing more into Catra’s touch as she leaned forward, her breaths growing heavier. Looking down into Adora’s eyes, Catra saw something else began to surface, something lost, pleading and afraid, yet so trusting.

Adora didn’t know what that captivated feeling was either, she hoped Catra would, but something about it scared her.

Don’t freeze, don’t burn, the new, steady part of Catra whispered.

She was betraying that face, an older part of her murmured, that look believed the world of her, and she couldn’t believe in it.

She focused on the new part. If she wanted to _keep_ seeing Adora like this- and she did, she never wanted to stop- she had to make sure they survived this.

“I know,” Catra whispered; and she did know. She knew that was why Adora fussed over her, knew it was why she had been so afraid when Adora went down in smoke, because when they were together was the only time either of them really felt safe. That was what the Promise meant.

Catra let impulse take her, climbing up onto Adora’s lap to hold her closer. There was a familiar wanting inside of Catra that needed to, that demanded she return the soft heat in Adora’s eyes.

Adora’s hands hovered awkwardly, like she was afraid all it would take to break the spell was touching her. It clicked, this was why she was so scared.

She wound her arms around Adora’s shoulders, pulling her in close to murmur in her ear. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here, and nothing is going to take me away from you.” Adora’s arms wrapped around her waist, desperately squeezing her tight. “We’re okay, we’re going to _be_ okay.” Adora took an unsteady breath, burying her face in Catra’s shoulder.

“You promise?” She breathed.

“I promise,” Catra whispered back. Liar, she was a _liar,_ she couldn’t _do this to_ -

It _didn’t matter_ , what mattered was that she meant it. Catra would make sure of it, they were together, always. What mattered was that she was here, cradling Adora against her chest and this was exactly where they belonged. Adora had been hard under her hands, tense and almost trembling, but with those two words she melted. Her shoulders unwound and her grip on Catra loosened with a long, heavy sigh.

“I promise,” Adora repeated.

The traitorous part of Catra went quiet, unheeded and unheard, and she lost herself in the moment; in Adora’s weight in her arms, in the gentle way Adora’s hands brushed up and down her back. No matter what the future brought, they had this. Comfortable as she was her eyes began to droop, a yawn forcing its way out of her.

Adora chuckled, “it’s been a long day, hasn’t it?”

“Too long,” Catra murmured back, resting her chin on Adora’s softened shoulder. All the warning she got was feeling Adora smile against her own before she was yanked sideways and down onto the bed, feeling weight settle on top of her. “Hey!”

“Sneak attack,” Adora said plainly, still smiling as she slid down to rest her head on Catra’s chest.

“Let me guess,” Catra huffed, bringing up one of her hands to ruffle through Adora’s hair, “payback for suplexing you?” Adora hummed in affirmation, her eyes drifting closed. “Petty, that was three days ago,” Catra spat without venom, drawing another chuckle from Adora.

Catra let herself smile, leaving her arms wrapped loosely around Adora’s shoulders as she closed her own eyes, drifting off in comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glimmer woke up in the middle of the night last night and saw them cuddling, so she's just sort of assumed that Adora and Catra are a couple already.


	16. Intermission 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow Weaver contemplates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter intermission this time, but sometimes that's just the deal with these scenes.

Darkness fell in the Fright Zone, pressing down on the world around Shadow Weaver heavily enough that even the incandescent lights of the buildings seemed muted to her. Though perhaps that was simply her temper showing. If so, she needed to keep a closer handle on it, she could not afford to be wasting power like that yet.

The replacement of her heart was nearing completion, but soft tissues were the easy part, if she were to drop herself now she would crumple. She could barely restrain a grimace at the thought; the greatest sorceress to ever live, reduced to pulling her own body from room to room like a puppet.

It was times like this she wished she hadn’t disposed of Micah, a font of easily consumed magic that powerful would have made her healing the matter of a day at most. Instead she had the Black Garnet which, powerful as it was, resisted her every step of the way with a will no mortal being would ever have been able to muster against her.

She could hardly wait for her lungs to be more than simply functional again, then she would be able to do frivolous things like shout and growl out her frustrations to her heart’s content.

The dark beings suffused through her blood roiled in sympathy they could not truly feel, their Mistress was angry, so they readied themselves to be the tools of her vengeance. It was simple function, not an attempt to comfort, but it soothed her nonetheless. Even diminished as she was, as long as they were fed they would obey her without question.

Perhaps she would take to the field once she was no longer relying on the Black Garnet just to live for longer than an hour at a time; reward the creatures for their obedience with a hunt. Most Etherians hardly had enough magic innate in them for that to be fulfilling, but maybe the Whispering Woods would yield better prey for her.

The legendary Madame Razz, perhaps. She dismissed the thought, she still had no real proof the woman even existed; Catra’s confidence was unearned at best in her experience, and until Grizzlor arrived it was all she had to go on. She had scoured the Whispering Woods for Razz once in her youth and found not a trace. Best not to get her hopes up. So she waited and watched the dust-choked horizon.

He’d best arrive soon, she didn’t have time for this when she could be tending to herself.

A spot of light appeared in the dust and she let her eyes narrow as it began to draw closer. She adjusted her magic’s hold on herself, drawing her head up tall and lifting a hand imperiously as the carrier drew into the hangar.

The bustle inside stopped dead once the door opened and the people inside caught sight of her, several soldiers frozen in place around the hastily bandaged Force Captain. There was terror in what she could see of Grizzlor’s eyes and she relished in it as she waved those around him aside, floating up onto the carrier with him.

“Tell me, Force Captain,” she sneered, “what were my orders regarding the Princess known as She-Ra?” He moved to push himself upright but hissed through his teeth when his injured hand touched the side of the stretcher, red blotches appearing on what were apparently fresh bandages. He almost grabbed at his face as his expression pulled at his wounds there but managed to keep it to just hovering.

“Capture- alive, unharmed if possible,” he slurred slightly, the bandages on his face catching against something underneath.

“And you fired a cannon at her,” Shadow Weaver’s eyes narrowed further, becoming white slits peering out from behind her mask. “Point. Blank.” He quaked underneath her glare, glancing at the soldiers, who had the presence of mind to step away from their Captain. They could hardly help him now, anyways. He gave her a shaky nod after a moment longer.

“I-I was- she-”

“I do not need your excuses,” she spat, drawing up imperiously, “you should count yourself lucky that she still lives.” She lunged forward and grabbed at the bandaged side of his face, quick as a viper, ignoring the flash of pain it sent through her back to move like that. “I assure you,” she squeezed and he howled, his ruined hand useless in attempting to pry her off, the other pawing just as futilely against her wrist, “if she did not I would personally ensure that what remained of you could serve as little more than a cautionary tale.” 

She dug her nails into the bandage for a moment before releasing him, pulling herself up straight again and inspecting the blood that had seeped through it. “As it is, I still require your service somewhat.” He panted and whimpered, his good hand going up to cradle his jaw.

“Wha’ya ‘eed?” The slur was much more pronounced now and she allowed herself a sense of satisfaction in that. She narrowed her eyes at him until he jolted slightly, “Ma’am.”

“My sources have claimed someone else was with the Princess and her companion, a sorceress by the name of Razz.” He blinked in confusion.

“‘The ol’ coot?” He pulled gently on the bandage, apparently fishing it out of the wound, Catra truly had done a number on him. “Wha’s ‘mportant ‘bout er?”

“That depends entirely on what you know of her.” Shadow Weaver felt the dark forces at her command begin to strain, enticed by the promise of power she may have just found. He nodded to one of the other soldiers, the haze in his eyes telling her he was in too much pain to continue speaking. Normally she would have forced him to continue, but this was too tantalizing to indulge such base instincts.

“She- uh…” the soldier stammered and trailed off nervously. She brandished one of her hands, power trailing along her fingertips and his tongue loosened nicely. “She just hangs around the edges, doesn’t do much, but any time someone tries to chase her she just vanishes. Sometimes people get lost if they try to follow her further.” He swallowed, “locals say the Woods like her.”

She felt her eyes narrow, her power now straining at the bit. It was impossible, it was so close. A myth, just ready and waiting for her to capture and make her own. She allowed herself a shiver of anticipation.

“Send for Force Captains Scorpia and Hyldren,” she commanded the soldier before turning back to Grizzlor, “your territory will be under their management until further notice.” A thrill of rage settled into her hands as she glanced across his wounds once more before sweeping out of the carrier.

Such power, and Catra was the one to deliver it. Her lips tugged in a scowl, Hordak didn’t need to know that, the more the Spymaster accomplished the messier getting rid of her would become once she had the chance.


	17. Nerds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora makes a realization.  
> Catra hunts.  
> Glimmer joins the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I intend to spend 5000 words on a game of tag? No. Am I glad I did? Reasonably. I was having too much fun to stop.  
> This chapter was supposed to be Catra getting a new outfit cause she's been walking around in a bathrobe for the past three chapters, but that's gonna have to be the next one.  
> In other news, the layout of this castle is an enigma to me and will remain that way.

Adora woke slowly again, the world sluggishly unfolding around her to the slow rhythm beneath her head. She didn’t normally sleep on her stomach, it was harder to wake at the ready if she needed to; but right now she was too comfortable to care, nuzzling her face into the warm, firm softness beneath her. The familiar huff of Catra chuckling to herself caught Adora’s attention and she felt a smile tug at her lips. She considered opening her eyes, but then Catra’s hands settled on top of her head, her fingers gently slipping through her hair, and she thought better of it.

Catra wouldn’t be able to keep up the nerve to be this free with her if she knew someone was watching, even if that someone was Adora. Last night was function, Adora knew that; just Catra holding up her end of their Promise. It had been an inevitability, unbreakable; this was a whim, and all the more delicate for it. She could already feel her body tensing with worry that she’d break the moment, so she focused on the sound of Catra’s slow breathing, forcing her muscles to relax again under her touch.

Catra’s fingers paused for a moment, but slowly returned to their task of idly tucking away stray hairs. As they did, that warm wanting in the back of Adora’s mind made itself known again. She tried to ignore it, it wanted the moment to end, wanted to take hold of Catra’s hand and turn her face to nestle against her palm. Adora knew better, knew the gesture would hurt more than it helped. The best thing she could do was stay still.

When Catra had kept her from looking away last night, had kept her from hiding that needy thing inside of her, it had run riot, Adora let it run away with her mouth and plaster itself across her face under Catra’s piercing gaze. Even now her cheeks began to burn when she thought about what she’d said. Every word of it true, but something about saying it out loud felt forbidden, like Catra had cut everything away from her with that look and a precious secret had come tumbling out.

Then Catra had climbed on top of her, and that had left both her and the thing completely overwhelmed, pacified and all but silenced underneath Catra’s gaze. Now that memory was sending the wanting running off in a very different direction, one she squashed even more firmly. It hadn’t been the time then, and it was certainly not the time now.

The familiar restlessness that came with idle moments crept up on her in its place, murmuring that more time was passing, and she wasn’t doing anything of worth. Luckily she wasn’t allowed out of the castle today, which was more than permission for her to continue laying there, it was as good as instruction. The thought soothed away the tension that had already begun to spool in her gut and she let out a low sigh, keeping her eyes closed and gently squeezing Catra.

Catra didn’t pause this time, taking one of her hands off of Adora’s head to wrap her arm around Adora’s shoulders and squeeze her back while her other hand continued to play around her ponytail. Adora smiled to herself, wondering if this warm comfort was how Catra had felt yesterday morning.

After a few minutes longer of gently massaging Adora’s scalp, Catra seemed to grow bored, her hand still in Adora’s hair sliding towards her face. Adora almost began to tense on reflex, but Catra’s hand planted itself firmly on the poof of hair just above Adora’s forehead to playfully bounce her fingers across it.

Well, that was enough of that; Adora opened her eyes to look up at Catra, her cheeks already beginning to burn in anticipation of the smirk Catra would no doubt be throwing her way. The expression she saw instead froze her in place.

The smile on Catra’s face was soft, an honest, barely there little thing without a hint of her usual performance behind it. That would have been enough, but it was the look in her eyes that stopped her from breathing. Catra’s eyes were fierce and hot, like she’d laid her claim on Adora and was daring anyone who’d even think of laying a finger on her to make her prove it.

Adora’s cheeks began to burn for a completely different reason, the wanting thing inside of her equally thrilled and pacified to be pinned beneath those possessive eyes. Catra blinked and the protective heat slid back beneath the surface so quickly it was like it had never been there to begin with, her smile sharpening to a smirk just as quickly while her hands left their places.

“What?” Catra asked, the edge on her voice was teasing and Adora had to wonder just what her face had looked like. She kept herself from shuddering, where had that look come from? She considered how easily it had vanished, that was experience, Catra had practice hiding that one.

Which meant it was probably almost always there. 

Adora slumped against Catra’s chest as something finally made its way through her thick skull and she suddenly felt like the dumbest person on the planet.

“By the moons I’m stupid,” she grumbled, untangling her arms from beneath Catra to cover her own face.

“What’re you talking about now?” Catra asked, rapping her knuckles against Adora’s hair poof again. Adora dragged her hands down off her face.

“I said you were the brains of the operation, and then immediately ignored you on like four different things.” Catra cocked an eyebrow at her. “I must look like such a liar,” she grumbled, pushing herself up off of Catra.

“Hey, I’m used to it.” Catra said as she sat up, shrugging. “You’ve got your dumb hero thing rattling around in there, it’s just louder than anyone else.” Something flashed through Catra’s eyes and she glanced away, murmuring under her breath, “always has been.” Adora felt her brow furrow.

“That just makes it worse!” She insisted, “ugh, it’s not like it’s easy not to worry about people to begin with and here I come to charge headfirst into every dangerous thing I can find.”

“I don’t worry about you,” Catra huffed, rolling her eyes. “You can handle yourself.”

“Oh really?” Adora asked, giving her as good of an impression of that protective look as she could manage. Catra blinked, all her fur standing on end before she gave Adora a firm shove that had her sprawling back off the bed onto the floor.

“Shut up,” she snapped, standing up on the other side of the bed and adjusting her robe.

Sitting up, Adora peered over the edge of the bed, a grin starting to spread across her face.

“Come on, of course you worry, you wouldn’t be such a quick thinker if you didn’t.”

“Yeah right,” Catra quirked an eyebrow down at her. “You must be the smartest then, since you never do anything _but_ worry about people.”

“No,” Adora provided, getting to her feet, “I worry about what’s right in front of me, that’s easy. You worry about what’s going to be there ten minutes from now, that’s the smart kind.” Catra blinked, watching her very closely all of the sudden.

Something occurred to Adora and she felt her smile turn impish. “Which makes you an even bigger nerd than me!” Catra’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous grin of her own spreading across her face.

“You sure about that?” She asked, shoulders tensing slightly, preparing for a lunge. Adora looked her dead in the eye and took a breath.

“Queen of the nerds,” she said simply, and the chase was on.

They were in motion at the same second, Catra launching herself over the bed high, expecting Adora to back up. Adora smirked, she’d jumped forward and low, throwing out her arms to use the bed as a springboard on her way to the door on the other side. She felt one of Catra’s hands slide across her back as Catra tried to twist and catch her in midair, but momentum was on Adora’s side.

She heard Catra’s claws slide against the stone floor as Adora landed with a bit less grace than she would have liked, stumbling forward a couple steps before she managed to get both her feet under her and turn around. If she wanted to be doing that regularly she’d need to ask for a taller bed frame.

Catra watched her from the other side, smoothly standing at the ready with her claws bared. The way her pupils narrowed and her smile stretched wider was equal parts ‘get back here’ and ‘run.’ Adora took the second command, turning on her heel and throwing the door open as she heard Catra spring back into motion.

Catra was faster and more agile than her, so Adora had to be tricky if she wanted to get anywhere. Her mind raced as she ran full-tilt down the hallway. Trouble with that was while Adora was good at predicting Catra’s opening gambits most of the time, Catra was amazing at reading what Adora was going to do from then on out.

She blinked and a laugh forced its way out of her as she dove to one side down another hallway, avoiding a pounce from Catra so narrowly that she felt fur brush past her shoulder. There were new elements this time, Adora set her destination in mind and shifted from a run to a sprint. If she made it, she’d have time to catch her breath.

Adora almost wished they were back in the Whispering Woods for this, where she’d be able to shove through obstacles that Catra would have to weave around. She heard claws scrape against the floor behind her, Catra was about to pounce again. She was only halfway down the hallway, and Catra would be ready for her to swerve again; but then Catra would know Adora knew that so stopping or ducking wouldn’t work either. She needed to do something unexpected but she couldn’t think what that would be.

Unexpected happened to her instead. She slipped, too lost in the rushing of her head to notice the rug until it was too late, the rug slid with just enough warning that reflex took over. She leaned back, pushing both feet and all her weight forward with the slide, landing on her back with a heavy thud but still able to preserve some of her momentum while Catra sailed overhead, blinking owlishly down at her. Another laugh bubbled up out of her at the sight while she scrambled back upright, barely avoiding Catra’s swipe at her ankle on the way past and clearing the rest of the hallway before making a sharp right.

Her destination in sight, Adora felt an actually helpful paranoia creeping up, suddenly hyper-aware of the sound of Catra rounding the corner behind her and jumping up the wall to the arches above. She wasn’t about to let Adora get away with going low again. Adora grinned, that’d make doors buy her a couple extra seconds, perfect.

Her lungs were burning already; she had the endurance to fight through it, but she was not built for a sustained sprint. She made it to the end of the hall and slowed down just enough to feint like she was going to turn a corner again. She heard Catra’s claws scrape against the stonework above to follow the movement and shoved forwards instead, barging through the large door at the end of the hall and into Glimmer’s room shoulder-first.

“Hey!” Catra shouted from outside while Glimmer let out a surprised yelp of her own as Adora came charging inside. Adora could feel the smile stretching almost painfully on her own face, which was probably the only thing that kept Glimmer from panicking as she panted out.

“Glimmer! Think fast!” Adora grabbed onto Glimmer’s arm and as Catra dropped into the doorway she saw realization dawn across Glimmer’s face before she grinned back and stuck out her tongue at the downright offended look on Catra's face. Bright light swallowed Adora’s entire world for an instant before she and Glimmer stumbled out into a garden somewhere high up under the daytime moon.

Adora released Glimmer’s arm and hunched over, taking great gulping breaths of air. “Ugh, I hate running that fast without a warmup. Thanks Glimmer.” She stood up straight, taking in a deep breath before stretching both arms up over her head.

“No problem,” Glimmer chuckled back, “did you see the look on her face?”

“Yeah,” Adora said breathlessly, sitting down to stretch out her hamstrings, “you might wanna get limber, too.”

“Why?” Glimmer blinked down at her.

“She’ll be after you too, now.” Adora nodded towards the wall of the castle. “And it’s what she’s doing. We’ll have to stick together if we want to keep from getting caught.” She felt her smile tilt into a smirk, fully aware she’d just dragged Glimmer into something she hadn’t really signed up for. Glimmer’s eyes narrowed but she grinned back.

“Oh, you’re going to owe me for this one.”

“Deal,” Adora stood up again, glancing around, “where are we right now?”

“Palace gardens, two floors straight up from my room.” She said it with the casual sort of confidence that gave Adora a moment of pause.

“Do you need to know exactly where you’re going to teleport there?”

“Not exactly,” Glimmer answered, pulling one of her arms above her head to help stretch out her core. “It helps though, especially in buildings.”

“How well do you know the castle?” Adora asked, a plan already spinning together in her head.

“Like the back of my hand.”

  
  
  


Part of Catra was tempted to call the stunt Adora had pulled cheating, but if she was honest with herself she was more impressed than anything. It was devious in a way that wasn’t normally typical of her, and this would definitely make things more interesting.

There was no telling where Glimmer had taken them, Catra had run down the things in direct line of sight from where they had been standing and it didn’t seem like they had gone to any of them. Which made Glimmer’s power even more tricky to work around. She hadn’t heard the strange noise that went along with the movement, either, so wherever they were, it wasn’t in earshot.

She had two options, either find a good vantage point somewhere they’d need to pass through and wait, or go looking. She’d chosen the second one, teleporting made it entirely too easy for them to skip over guaranteed choke points.

The investigation was ongoing, but she performed it at a walk, conserving her energy for when she actually did find them.

Once they were ready to get moving again, Adora would want to play fair, but what that meant with teleportation in play was up in the air. She closed her eyes and shook her head, that was without considering how Glimmer would play this, and Catra didn’t know enough to predict her, either. She smiled to herself, this was going to be fun.

It wasn’t until she’d headed up a staircase that she caught a sign of them.

“Why are we headed towards her?” Glimmer’s voice, Catra perked her ears towards the sound, somewhere off down the hall towards the left.

“It’s no fun if she’s got two whole floors to search before she’d even get close.” Adora answered her and Catra’s smile turned sharp around the edges, score one for Catra. They were definitely towards the left, voices a bit muffled, so behind a wall, but still clear enough that they couldn’t be further down than one or two hallways.

“I guess it would be more like hide and seek, then,” Glimmer murmured. Catra moved quiet as a whisper, checking around the first turn and, seeing nothing, starting down it.

She hoped they’d keep talking, but they didn’t say anything more, leaving Catra to carefully check every turn she came across before something occurred to her. She drew a claw along one of the walls, making a low scraping noise that would hopefully catch their attention.

“Ah, she’s close,” Adora said somewhere just a little bit further ahead. Adora would be watching the halls, if Catra misjudged this she’d be spotted long before she had the chance to run them down, so she rapped her claws against the wall a couple more times as she crept along. “She’s gone up, watch the arches.” Catra’s smirk bared her teeth, there they were.

She turned the corner in a flash, the moment it took for them to look back down at her all she needed to close the gap. Glimmer yelped at the sight of her, her hands coming up in fists on reflex. Good instincts, Catra had to give her that, but she wasn’t looking to catch them right off the mark; where would the fun be in that?

Adora shoved Glimmer aside and dove in the other direction. Catra charged through the gap between them before wheeling around. Adora swerved back over to Glimmer, shouting, “distance, distance!” Glimmer blinked and nearly lost her chance as Catra spurred herself back into motion, but she recovered in time for them to vanish in a shower of sparks.

Catra listened carefully, they sounded off somewhere behind her and she whirled to face them. They’d managed to put two intersections between her and them and were turning to run. Catra gave chase, already wondering at their next move as their backs grew steadily closer.

Adora actually had to slow herself down a little in order for Glimmer to keep up, so they were definitely looking to keep working in concert. Adora never was the kind to peel off from her team, but it was good to have confirmation.

She prepared herself to pounce and Adora grabbed at Glimmer’s hand, shouting, “now!” They vanished again and Catra heard the sound of them reappearing off to the right. She grit her teeth and put on a bit of extra speed to make it to the next turn before they had a chance to get further out of sight. They hadn’t gone as far this time, only one hall between them and her. Was that intentional or was Glimmer unable to move further while running? Only one way to find out.

She closed the gap again, she wasn’t going to be flashy this time. Instead of moving to pounce she just raised her hand to grab at Glimmer’s cape. She took a handful of it and Glimmer yelped. Adora looked back, her eyes wide. She’d been waiting on the sound of Catra’s claws for her queue, Catra threw her a smirk. “Ditch the cape,” Adora commanded as she pivoted sharply, grabbing Glimmer around the back this time to pull her into the movement and using Catra’s grip on the cape to yank her off balance.

Glimmer reacted quickly, undoing the clasp on her cape as Catra was pulled along past them. Catra was left with a handful of cloth when they vanished, a breathless laugh from Glimmer trailing in their wake. They reappeared further down the same hall and got right back to running.

Catra blinked after them, first behind her, then to the right, then in front, was Glimmer using that simple of a pattern? This might be easier than she’d thought. She gave chase, Adora was throwing looks back over her shoulder now, she wasn’t going to be able to sneak up on them again. Catra was running out of tricks, but in a chase she didn’t really need tricks to beat Adora, she just needed her to make a mistake. The tricks were more fun, though.

Adora gave Glimmer a nod once Catra was within lunging distance and they vanished, Catra turned the corner to the left before they even reappeared. Sure enough they appeared down at the end of the hall; Glimmer’s eyes went wide when she saw Catra already on their tail and they vanished again. Catra jumped into a door frame, shoving off of it to help her turn around quickly; they'd made a panic jump, Glimmer would be looking to get behind her.

They reappeared in Catra’s line of sight again and Adora yanked Glimmer along before she could teleport. They had two options that Catra saw, either change up the pattern or start teleporting more and more often to try and throw her off.

“Too predictable, Sparkles,” Catra taunted, hoping to force the second so Glimmer would wear herself out faster.

They made it down two more hallways before they chose a third option. Glimmer released Adora’s hand and vanished with a parting wave back towards Catra. She heard a faint twinkling from somewhere up ahead but didn’t see Glimmer reappear. Adora threw a grin over her shoulder before making a sharp left.

Catra narrowed her eyes and grabbed at the corner to help her take the turn faster. Adora wouldn’t be grinning if Glimmer had just ditched, so there was a plan. Adora made a right and Catra just managed to catch a glimpse of her before she vanished. That was it, Adora was sending Glimmer ahead to set up relay points.

Catra heard them reappear somewhere off to the left and took the next turn. Another teleport and when Catra caught sight of her, Adora was alone and already running. Catra scowled to herself, if they were setting up this fast it was going to be tough to keep track of where they were headed. The scowl turned to a grin, a real challenge.

She started slowing down once she got close to Adora, trailing instead of trying to catch. On the third time they caught up to Glimmer’s relay points Catra was able to catch it. They were doing it so fast it almost sounded like a single noise, but Catra heard Glimmer arrive at her new position after dropping Adora off. Now she just needed to wait until she heard it closer to her than it was to Adora.

She put the pressure back on, taking any opportunity she got to try and grab or pounce on Adora. The misses were near enough that she was certain Adora couldn’t tell she was missing on purpose. More than once she nearly caught the both of them as they vanished, but finally she heard Glimmer reappear somewhere behind her after dropping Adora off up ahead out of sight.

She let out a sharp laugh and turned on her heel, it only sounded two halls back, maybe one or two to the side.

She took the turn first, Glimmer would be expecting a straight shot, Catra would come at her from the side. It was two halls to the right that Catra caught sight of Glimmer, watching the hall in front of her just like she’d predicted. She considered, she’d have maybe thirty seconds before Adora turned up, she could afford to get a little bit flashy with this one.

She smirked and climbed up the wall, jumping between the arches above. Glimmer twitched and looked down the hall when she heard Catra’s claws on the wall, but she was already out of the way. As Catra crept closer Glimmer relaxed, turning back to watch the hall.

“Glimmer!” Adora shouted, still not close enough to see, “Catra’s not chasing me, she’s figured it out!” Glimmer tensed right back up, turning to check each of the halls around her, but she didn’t look up in time. Catra dropped down on her, driving Glimmer to the ground and grabbing both of her arms before pinning them behind her back.

“Gotcha, Princess,” she smirked at the shocked look Glimmer was throwing over her shoulder. “She warned you to watch high.” Adora turned the corner and scrambled to a stop.

“She caught me, run Adora!” Glimmer shouted while Catra shot her a cocky grin and a salute. Adora gave her an exaggerated grim nod and turned to run off down another hall.

Glimmer shifted uncomfortably underneath Catra after a few moments of catching her breath. “Aren’t you going after her?”

“Soon as we’ve got a plan,” Catra said, getting up off of Glimmer and helping her back to her feet. “Adora got her fun with the teleporting, my turn.”

“You two are gonna give me a tougher workout than I’ve had in months,” Glimmer huffed out, but a smile still found its way onto her face. “What do you need me to do? I’m guessing you’re not going to just win by having me drop you on top of her.”

“No, but that would be hilarious.” Catra turned a couple scenarios over in her head. “We’re going to drive her towards the front hall. First, you grab a hold of her and teleport to enough random spots that she loses her bearing, then you bring her back to where I’ll be, two halls to the right of the stairwell. She’ll be looking for something to reorient herself, see the stairs, and head right for them.” Catra hummed to herself, “what turns do we need to take downstairs to make it to the front hall?”

“Depends, do you want her to know where we’re going?”

“Nope, she’ll avoid open areas if she can.”

“Then a left two halls down, a right three more down, and another left at the next hall.”

“Good,” Catra nodded, “we’ll need to keep her fenced in. I’ll take her left side, you take her right, we swap whenever we need to steer her, and you make sure she doesn’t turn around. Got it?” Glimmer nodded back, her eyes glinting with anticipation. “Good, I’m gonna get in position, give her the runaround.” Catra offered a fist and Glimmer bumped it with her own before vanishing.

It took a moment for Catra to get her own bearings, and she scowled to herself when she realized she’d lost them at all. She headed towards the ring around the main portion of the building and tried to remember which way the staircase would be. She didn’t have a whole lot of time. They’d made more rights than lefts, she thought, but they’d also completely turned around more than once, so she more or less guessed and headed to the right.

She got lucky and found the staircase just before hearing Adora yelp and the shimmer of Glimmer’s teleporting sound off. She only had a few seconds to get into position, tearing around the corner to stand in the next intersection. She took a moment to smooth out her hair and waited.

She heard Glimmer zapping around for nearly half a minute before appearing in front of her, a dizzy looking Adora in tow. Glimmer released her and took a step back, leaving Adora to shake herself back into her surroundings.

Catra smirked as she caught sight of her and jumped, “hey Adora, run.” She bared her claws and Adora turned on her heel to escape. Catra nodded Glimmer towards the left branch and started after Adora as she disappeared.

Adora glanced both ways at the intersection, and jumped slightly when Glimmer appeared to her left, charging off to the right. Catra stayed hot on her tail, watching as Adora took the staircase in leaps and bounds. “Glimmer,” Catra called, but Glimmer already had a hand on her shoulder.

“On it,” Catra closed her eyes against the glare as Glimmer zapped them down the stairs, dropping Catra off on one side before teleporting to the other. Adora dropped down between them, her eyes going wide.

“Oh, come on!” She shouted before scrambling down the hall in front of her. Catra waved for Glimmer to follow and started down the hall on Adora’s left. She pushed herself as fast as she could, she needed to make it three halls in the time it took Adora to run two of them. She didn’t bother to check, either she’d be in position in time, or she’d catch Adora on the way past.

She managed it, just barely, Adora skidded nearly to a stop when she saw Catra coming down at her from in front, throwing a glance around before turning left. Catra grinned to herself and slipped back up the hall to follow at a distance, she had more time to make this one work, this was fun. She pushed herself again, and caught sight of Adora at the next turn, Adora saw her and grinned before turning on her heel to head back the way she’d come. Catra caught the moment of confusion on her face before she lost sight of her behind a wall.

Adora knew she was being actively fenced in; now the real challenge began.

Catra made it to her new position and waited a moment before wheeling around the corner. Adora’s face wasn’t surprised this time, she watched Catra cooly as she swung to the right, she was planning.

Well it was too late for that, Catra only needed to be in position one more time. She put on a sprint, breathing heavy; if she was getting tired, Adora was probably on her last legs.

She barely made it, swinging around the corner just as Adora would have charged down the straight. Instead of turning left, Adora made a right. Catra grinned to herself and ran down the hall, waiting for Adora to come running back to avoid getting caught by Glimmer.

Instead she heard Glimmer shout and a thud. Catra blinked and looked down the hall, Adora had shoved Glimmer aside before she could get a hold of her and was charging off away from the main hall.

Catra huffed out a laugh before following, that was a bullheaded move, she really should have seen it coming.

“Should I try to cut her off?” Glimmer asked as she struggled to keep up.

“We don’t know where she’d headed,” Catra shook her head, “wait till I’ve got her cornered.”

The chase was on again, Adora throwing a grin over her shoulder as Catra steadily closed the gap. What was she planning? She wasn’t even checking down any of the other halls they passed, was she just seeing how far she could get before Catra caught up?

The answer to that question seemed to be at least to the curved hall that ran the boundary of the castle; Adora went to turn left and skidded to a stop, Catra was close enough that she couldn’t stop in time to avoid slamming into her back and shoving them both forward into the turn. She caught a glimpse of Bow lifting something over his head as they began to tumble.

“This is delicate!” He shouted and Catra felt arms wrap around her waist before the world disappeared in light for a split second. The three of them stumbled out on the other side of Bow, tripping over each other to land in a tangled pile on the floor.

Catra blinked a couple times, pinned beneath Glimmer, and she was pretty sure she was sitting on Adora’s stomach. She turned her head to confirm Adora was indeed underneath her and lifted a fist.

“I win!” She declared, breaking Glimmer and Adora out of the daze of hitting the floor. Glimmer rolled off of them, giggling breathlessly to herself while Adora held a glare at Catra for all of four seconds before she broke too, her face flushed with exertion as she belted out laughter between breaths.

Catra stood and brushed herself off, feeling probably more proud of herself than she should have. Today was going to be a good day.


	18. Tags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bow shows off his toys.  
> The Squad takes advantage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Quarantine's been wreaking havoc on my writing process, but I finally managed to get this out as a present to me the day before my birthday. This chapter's all Adora, so next chapter's going to be all Catra.

Bow’s arrival signified an end to that game, in more ways than one, considering his surprise appearance had given Catra her opening to win. Once they’d all recovered from the impromptu dogpile he’d slid into their morning as easy as breathing.

Well, Catra had asked him what he was carrying and he’d started going through every little bit and bauble in the boxes. After the adrenaline rush it was a pleasantly mundane thing to listen to, though most of it flew over Adora’s head, and if the nearly apologetic glances Catra was sending her way were any indication, it was going over hers too. Adora would have felt kind of bad about it if Glimmer wasn’t listening intently, so at least someone was able to follow along with him.

Catra nodded down another hall but Adora just raised an eyebrow at her, she’d made this bed and she was going to lay in it. Catra silently huffed and crossed her arms, following along as Bow led the way.

He didn’t seem to be paying especially close attention to where he was going, but he also looked quite confident about it, so Adora kept her mouth shut. He probably had a room set aside for him.

He turned off into a room and Adora allowed herself a smile to see her suspicions confirmed. Nobody but a tinkerer like Bow would have a space as simultaneously messy and ordered as this. Every flat surface had some form of half-assembled or disassembled machine or part on it, Adora actually recognized a few pieces she’d seen him take from the injector in Plumeria.

There were racks along a couple of the walls, tools sorted by size and a few other methods Adora wasn’t quite sure of the metric for but looked orderly enough in practice.

“Oh!” Bow interrupted himself, “while I was there I had the chance to ask my dads what bedframes are for. It’s for ventilation, keeping your bed up off the ground stops it from trapping sweat.”

“Huh,” Adora thought about that for a moment, back in the Fright Zone they _had_ needed to send her mattress through the wash at least once a week. “Makes sense.”

“Uuugh, do you two have to be this lame?” Catra groaned, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, you’re the one who asked that question,” Adora shot back.

“Yeah, two days ago.”

“Would it be lame to have this!?” Bow proclaimed, drawing Adora’s attention back to him as he lifted a welding torch over his head. Catra blinked at him, putting her hands on her hips.

“Depends on what you plan to do with it.” She said, her eyes sparking with a challenge.

“What do I plan to do with it? What can’t I do with it?” He turned a valve on the handle and squeezed, sparking the flame to life, “this baby can cut through solid metal in seconds. Need detail work? No problem,” he twisted the valve again and the flame shrunk narrower, his eyes narrowing in determination as he spoke with such conviction it made his voice crack. “I’m going to use it to put your initials on your Tracker Pads.”

Adora and Catra both gaped at him for a moment before Adora shook herself out of it.

“So that’s what it’s like being on the receiving end of that.” She murmured, nodding, at a loss for what to say. “You go?”

Catra recovered with a sudden bark of laughter.

“First the trackers, then the world! Look out Etheria, Bow’s got a blowtorch and he’s going to conquer the Horde with it!” She swooped over and threw an arm around Bow’s shoulder, pulling him down a little in the process as he held the torch away from her; Glimmer’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Careful,” he chastised her, “this thing could seriously hurt you.” He let his grip on it loosen and the flame sputtered out.

“We’re going to take down Hordak himself, with the power of engraving.” Catra pushed on regardless.

“Okay, yeah,” Bow started sheepishly, “it sounded better in my head.”

“Ya think?” Catra drawled at him, squeezing her arm around his shoulder for a moment before backing off. “Seriously though, we can cut whatever into whatever with that thing?” Glimmer perked up suddenly, her suspicion of Catra’s intent lost as an understanding flitted between them. Adora already didn’t like the sound of this.

“Just about. Wh- no.” Bow caught on just in time, “we are not using this for vandalism.”

“Aw, come on.” Catra whined through a smirk.

“Yeah, boo!” Glimmer threw in. Bow glanced between Catra’s sharpening smirk and Glimmer’s pout, taking a step back. Adora set her shoulders and stepped in, not about to let them pressure Bow into doing something stupid.

“This isn’t the Fright Zone, Catra, there aren’t any cleaning drones to deal with the damage it’d cause.”

“Killjoy,” Catra smarmed, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes. Adora knew that look, she’d be looking to sneak in here and take it later if she didn’t get some kind of substitute.

“Oh!” Bow snapped his fingers, shooting Adora a glance that told her he recognized the same in Glimmer, “you know what we could do though? We could make tags.” He turned to a desk, shifting a box aside to pull out a small square of sheet metal from beneath it.

“Tags?” Adora asked, noticing Catra’s face go thoughtful out of the corner of her eye.

“Well, we’re going to be going a lot of places with the Rebellion,” he said, opening a drawer to pull out more scrap pieces for them to use. “If we make stencils we can find cool places to leave our signs everywhere we go.”

“Will we still get to mess with the blowtorch?” Glimmer pressed, Catra nodding sagely beside her.

“Well, the stencils we take with us will be made of paper or cardboard so we’ll only be able to use them once or twice at a time, can’t really bend metal to match all possible curves of a wall. We’ll use the torch to make templates that we’ll use to make the rest.” Bow smiled brightly, “and I’ll get to keep the templates on display in my workshop!”

“Uh, maybe we should let Bow be in charge of the torch?” Adora hazarded, earning herself a pair of thoroughly unimpressed looks from Glimmer and Catra. “Just a thought.”

“Anyways,” Catra said, rolling her eyes again, “how’re we doing this? We take turns with the torch and just going with whatever pops into our heads first?”

“Well, uh,” Bow squeaked, “I don’t have unlimited scrap so we’ll be mocking them up on paper first, then tracing them onto the metal, and _then_ we get to use the torch.”

“Fine,” Catra huffed, grimacing a little. Bow brought a pair of extra chairs over to a long desk so Glimmer, Catra, and Adora could sit down while he put the blowtorch away on the other side of the room.

Adora glanced between Catra and Glimmer, but they seemed to have been well distracted from their planned shenanigans, so she decided to turn her mind to what she’d make for her tag as she sat down on Catra’s right. Nothing sprung to mind right away, most of the symbols in her head were off the table by default these days anyways. The sword might have made a good one, but all it took was remembering the cold edge on She-ra’s power to make that feel off. It wasn’t quite _hers_ yet the way she’d want something like this to be.

It could be aspirational, she supposed. She glanced over at Glimmer to check what she was working with. She’d started on a simple design, a pair of puffy little wings with small spirals at the bases, and was embellishing with sharp lines like moon-rays coming off the back edge of them. Adora cocked her head, she didn’t recognize the wings from anywhere, she’d have to ask later.

She frowned, turning back to her own paper. That hadn’t given her any ideas. Maybe she could use Eternia, it only existed in her head in the odd, branching script of First One’s writing; no one would recognize she’d just put down a word that didn’t really mean anything. It would be the easy way out. She let out a huff as Bow sat down near the end of the desk. She didn’t want to just be getting it over with if they really did end up leaving these everywhere.

She decided to see what Bow was making, peering across the desk at his paper; he’d already made a rather large B. She blinked, was just her name an option? She supposed it might be, there wasn’t really anything stopping her from doing that. Bow jotted down an F next to it and Adora felt herself deflate a little. He really was going to make Best Friend Squad their thing, wasn’t he? She settled back into her chair with a silent sigh, her name was definitely an option if Bow could do that, but it still felt too much like just going with the default.

She turned her attention towards Catra to see what she was doing, maybe she could give her some ideas. Her paper was a bit crinkled and marked with eraser scuffs, evidently she’d been running into the opposite problem from Adora’s, too many ideas. Now she had taken off her head guard and placed it down on the paper, tracing around it. Her hair kept floating down over her face without it and she was idly brushing it aside with the back end of her pencil every few seconds, her brow furrowed with concentration. Adora felt a smile start across her face, tamping down on the impulse to reach over and hold Catra’s hair back for her.

The movement of her hands caught Adora’s attention and she let her eyes linger on them as she worked for a moment. The claws of her hand holding down her head guard were out, just barely ghosting along the paper as she held it steady, and an idea slotted into place for Adora. It wouldn’t be something she could say was hers alone, but she could definitely feel connected to it.

She watched Catra finish her design, putting her head guard back into place once she was done with tracing it, and drawing a pair of lines coming in from the sides of the guard, ending each in a sharp oval shape for her eyes. Catra drew back a moment and Adora opened her mouth to speak but stopped as Catra tapped the end of the pencil against her own cheek; she wasn’t done yet. Something amused passed through her eyes for a split second before she leaned back down and placed a diamond in the middle of the symbol, just beneath the eyes, erasing two spots on opposing lines of it and adding in a jagged crack down the middle. She looked the result over for a moment before nodding to herself, satisfied.

Adora blinked and looked more closely at the broken diamond for a moment before she realized what it was, it was the same almost swooping shape as the one on Shadow Weaver’s mask. It set an oddly proud and hesitant feeling in her chest and she decided not to keep thinking about what that might mean.

“Hey Catra,” she cleared her throat, “could I borrow your hand for a minute?”

“Huh?” Catra blinked at her, putting down her pencil and offering her hand, “sure, I guess.”

“Thanks, mind putting it here,” Adora pointed to a spot next to her paper with her pencil, “palm up?” Catra scooted closer and put down her hand, throwing Adora a curious look as she did. “Thank you,” Adora said, slipping her own hand into Catra’s and squeezing firmly.

“Uh, what are we doing?” Catra asked, a slight tremor going through her fingers before she squeezed her hand back.

“Making my tag; mind showing off your claws a bit more?”

Catra huffed out a quiet laugh and her claws slid out, gently pricking at the back of Adora’s hand. Adora nodded and got to drawing with Catra leaning over her shoulder to watch as she drew their entwined hands, paying close attention to Catra’s claws so she’d get the curve just right.

Once she was done she hummed to herself a moment, squeezing Catra’s hand slightly before drawing a curved slash coming down diagonally behind the hands and turning to Catra. “Three or four claws for your side?”

“Four,” she responded, “three would be kinda weird, wouldn’t it? I’d need to tuck in my pinkie or something to get that, which is probably a bad idea.”

“I think it would look cool, but that’s fair,” Adora shrugged, drawing in four slashes coming in from the other side. “How’s that look?”

“Pretty cool,” Catra nodded, giving Adora’s hand another squeeze as her claws slid away and for a moment she noticed how nicely their hands fit together.

“Oh! Final touch,” Adora said, reluctantly pulling her hand out of Catra’s and using it to hold the paper steady as she added one last detail; the winglike crossguard from the sword to the back of her hand. “How about now?” Catra chuckled at her, a brow cocked fondly.

“It looks great,” she hurried her along, “now let’s call it done before you overload it and Bow can’t cut it out right.” Adora smiled back, looking up over to where Bow was already showing Glimmer how to hold the torch correctly.

“Finished,” Adora called over, Glimmer looked up and gave her a quick thumbs up before Bow stuffed her head into a welding mask.

Adora caught a glimpse of the changes Glimmer had made to hers as she walked over. She’d added a clenched fist between the wings, the rays off them now running parallel to its wrist.

The amount of gear Bow was fretting over Glimmer to put on seemed a little excessive to Adora; the gloves and mask made sense, but the apron was weird. Then again, he was the one who worked with tools like this regularly, so it was probably all necessary. He transferred Glimmer’s drawing onto a sheet of metal with a marker while she suited up, double checking it a couple times to make sure nothing had dripped or slid in the process.

Once he was satisfied both with the guidelines and Glimmer’s preparedness he led them to a corner of the workshop with a bare floor, far away from any paper or loose fabric, and fixed the metal in place with a clamp before shepherding them all further away from Glimmer and letting her loose with the torch.

It was slower going than they’d expected, which nearly cost Glimmer one of the wings not coming out right, but luckily she managed to catch it before she ruined her stencil. As more and more sparks flew Adora had to admit the apron was probably keeping Glimmer’s clothes from catching fire.

Once it was finished, Glimmer turned off the torch and pulled off the mask to get a closer look.

“It’s kinda… drippy,” she grimaced as Bow hurried over with a pair of tongs.

“Well, a welding torch doesn’t really do neat lines, you have to clean them up with a sander, which I am _not_ letting you guys use.” He insisted, pulling it out of the clamp and looking it over. “If you slip up with a torch you’ve got a couple seconds before any serious damage happens, slip up with a sander and you’re _going_ to hurt yourself.” He nodded after a second longer, “good work Glimmer. Who’s next?” Catra’s hand went up immediately.

Catra’s was simpler, so it went faster than Glimmer’s had, but the metal barely had time to cool before there was a knock at the door. Bow hurried to answer it, opening the door to reveal the Queen. “Your Majesty!” He sputtered, stepping back from the door so she could enter. 

Adora felt herself go ramrod straight for a moment but managed to wrestle down the Surprise Inspection panic that tried to take a hold of her. Catra trusted her, it was fine, the Queen was _fine._

She took a moment to look them over, her gaze impassive until she noticed the half-discarded papers containing the concepts for their tags and a faint smile tugged at her lips.

“I hope I’m not interrupting too much,” she said with a trace of humor before turning to Bow. “You mentioned you needed materials yesterday, but I’m afraid I didn’t give you the time to tell me what they were. Could I trouble you for a list?”

“Of course,” Bow offered with a relieved smile, moving to grab a piece of paper off the desk. “It’s just a couple things, mostly raw materials.”

“Thank you,” the Queen nodded as Bow started scribbling down the list.

She turned her attention to Adora, something troubled flickering behind her eyes for a moment before she gathered herself, her voice almost cautious. “Adora, Catra, I understand that you have need of some new clothes. I sent for a seamstress from the town, she should be arriving shortly.”

“Uh,” Adora blinked, “what about the Whispering Woods?”

“We will still be discussing our plan of action today,” the Queen said firmly, “but I believed it prudent to ensure we were all presentable for that.”

“Can’t argue with her on that,” Catra huffed, yanking off the almost oversized protective gloves and brushing at a newly singed patch on her robe. “I do my best thinking in more than my underwear.” Adora nodded a little begrudgingly, feeling oddly put out that they were postponing it even if she probably wouldn’t be able to go out and do anything for the next couple days.

“Good,” the Queen nodded back. “She’ll be headed to the guest room when she arrives. It may be best to go wait for her there.”

“Oh, okay,” Adora said a little lamely, glancing down at the drawing in her hands.

“I’m calling first turn anyways,” Catra offered, giving her a firm pat on the back. “I’ll go ahead, you can catch up when you’re done.” She chuckled, “that is if you don’t mess up cutting it out.”

“I’m not gonna mess it up,” she said indignantly. She looked it over again, she had put a lot of detail into it, and the torch had proven to be a less than precise tool. Maybe it would be a better idea to let Bow handle this one. She blinked as she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t actually wanted them to be playing with the blowtorch at all, she still wanted a turn now, though. She’d just cut out the edges and pass it off to Bow for the detail work if she wasn’t feeling confident about it.

“Good luck,” Catra grinned over her shoulder before turning to the Queen, “lead the way.”

“I actually still have a few things to set in order before the meeting,” the Queen said, “Glimmer can show you how to get there.” Catra blinked at her a moment before shrugging.

“Ooh,” Glimmer joined eagerly, hurrying Catra out past the Queen. “There’s actually one of my favourite balconies between here and there, I can show it to you.”

The Queen watched the two of them head off down the hallway for a moment, another faint smile settling across her lips before she turned back to Adora and her expression went sombre again; she took a second to glance over towards Bow, who was still scribbling down the list she’d asked for.

“Adora,” she began softly.

“Yes ma’am,” Adora felt herself start to go stiff again but the Queen took a small step back, giving her some space to breath.

“I would like to apologize for what happened yesterday.” Adora blinked as the Queen gave her a short bow. “I lost my temper, it was… unbecoming.”

“Oh,” Adora said, not quite sure what to make of this. “...Does that mean?” She hazarded, drawing a bemused look from the Queen.

“Your house arrest is still very much in effect,” she said, glancing towards Bow again. “What I mean to say is that I will tread more lightly in the future. Thank you,” she took the list when Bow offered it to her. “I will send for these shortly.” She gave Adora a nod, turning to leave.

Adora stared after her for a moment longer; if she hadn’t been apologizing for the lockdown, what had that been about, then? She was a superior officer, she had every right to raise her voice. Adora’s reaction was hardly her fault, what was her angle?

Adora huffed to herself, almost forcibly pulling her train of thought away. Catra said it was fine, but it looked like the Queen was going to be a strain on her nerves no matter what if even her apologizing sent Adora’s mind spinning off on all kinds of paranoid tangents.

A hand was placed on her shoulder and she nearly jumped, but it was only Bow.

“You want to do your tag now?” He said hopefully, a tinge of concern about the edges of his smile.

“Sure,” Adora cleared her throat, letting her shoulders come down, “thanks.”

“No problem,” Bow said as he handed her the protective equipment. “Glimmer’s used to her, but Angella can be kind of nerve wracking to be around sometimes.” He gestured a little helplessly for a moment as he searched for the words, “she’s a Queen, and she’s seen a lot, which has a way of making her… would heavy be the right word?” Adora shrugged as she put on the welding mask. “Point is it’s hard not to feel small next to her.”

“The fact that she’s taller than She-Ra doesn’t help,” she said, surprised to feel a grin tugging at her face.

“No kidding,” Bow let out a quick laugh, securing the plate. “And then there’s Glimmer, yelling at her even though she’s maybe a little more than half her size. Like a sparrow going after a hawk.” Bow guided her through cutting everything out, even the little decal of the crossguard, though he’d advised her to make it more the outer shape of it than going through all the details.

“Do you need help with finishing those up?” She asked once she was finished, but he shook his head.

“I’ve got it, I like doing the cleanup work on stuff like this,” he waved her off, “and you’ve got that seamstress waiting. Don’t worry, I’ll catch up with you guys in time for the meeting. I’ll bring the first batch of stencils.” He gave her a grin.

“I, uh, don’t know where the guest room is.”

“Well, if I know Glimmer, she’ll be realizing that right about,” he glanced up for a second, “now.”

Sure enough, Glimmer appeared in the middle of the room a moment later.

“Please tell me she hasn’t wandered off yet,” she panted before looking up to see Adora blinking at her and Bow looking very satisfied with himself. “What?”

Glimmer made short work of teleporting her over to the guest room. The room was as strangely expansive as Adora had come to expect from the castle, though this one had wall-height windows on all sides not taken up by the door that made for a- frankly- uncomfortably exposed space. Adora couldn’t imagine sleeping here unless she set up alarms along half of them at least.

Someone had set up a strange sort of paper screen decorated with floral patterns in the center of the room, a shadow shifting on the other side of it. A moment later Catra stepped into view and Adora’s world narrowed down to almost nothing.

“Told you she wasn’t going to get lost,” she drawled, a claw plucking at the bottom of her shirt. Her new clothes weren’t anything intricate or particularly eye-catching, just a simple, loose-fitting black tank top and thick looking brown leggings; yet seeing her in it still made the wanting in the back of Adora’s mind practically do a victory lap around her head.

Catra had swapped the ridiculous fluffy bathrobe for something that looked even cozier by virtue of being so much more her that instead of emphasizing all the sharp edges of her it smoothed them out. Adora hadn’t even realized she’d made note of that contrast until right then. “It’s just until they’re done making things that actually fit.”

The nervous edge to Catra’s voice snapped her back to the present and she realized she’d been staring.

“I like it,” she blurted out before she could think better of it. “It suits you.” Catra crooked a brow at her.

“Sure,” she didn’t sound convinced, but she let it drop. “Oh, check this out,” she pulled up the hem of her top to reveal a belt wound loosely about her waist. “You know how annoying the uniforms always were for people with tails? These things keep that from happening.” She turned on her heel to show off a loop that connected it to the back of her leggings, keeping pressure from the waistband off of her tail. “No more losing fur to my clothes!” She proclaimed, turning back around while Adora tried very hard not to think about how soft the ridge of darker fur down her back looked right now.

“That’s great,” Adora said, blinking a moment to keep her mind on track. Now that she thought about it, she’d actually had ideas for something like that a couple years back when Catra had really started complaining about that. An odd part of her was quietly irritated that she hadn’t been the one to make it happen but it was very firmly being drowned out by the part that was still babbling about how nice it would be to scoop Catra up right now.

Catra glanced over her shoulder and grimaced.

“Here’s a tip,” she murmured, “try not to squirm too much.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re done admiring my work, I believe it’s your turn.” A clipped voice sounded from behind Adora with all the repressed irritation of a drill instructor. She turned on her heel purely on instinct to face a short satyr woman with a tape measure wrapped around one hand. “Now, before we begin, do you have any preferences?” Adora stared at her for a second before running a finger along the bottom of her jacket.

“Uh, can I just get more of these?” The woman’s eye twitched. That had not been the right answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could probably make some decent visual references for their tags if I have the time and people are interested.


	19. Just Busywork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra takes point.  
> The Rebellion pushes against the inevitable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time it's a week late on purpose. I wanted to get it back on the right sundays, cause the mondays on either side of this one I've got appointments I need to get things together for.

If there was one thing Adora was good at, Catra mused, it was doing what she was told. This simple fact saved her a lot of grief with the seamstress as far as measurements were concerned. If she was honest, Catra had probably primed her to expect the worst with her own session. It wasn’t her fault this process required so much uninvited touching, or that the tape measurer felt like a restraint for the split second before she could keep control of herself.

At least the clothes she got out of it were comfortable, unlike what the seamstress was trying to push on Adora. She’d managed to frustrate the satyr with her soft spoken refusal of anything more complex than what she already had, and Catra was beginning to suspect that at this point the seamstress was just upping the ante either to be petty or in an attempt to batter her into submission. 

Either way, watching Adora weather it with all the grace of a brick wall had Catra holding back giggles despite the desperate glances she kept throwing Catra’s way.

The seamstress had just shoved Adora’s head into a hat that looked more like an excessively elaborate lamp than clothing when the door opened and one of the guards stepped through, standing to attention.

“Sorry to interrupt, b-”

“It’s fine, great really!” Adora cut them off, taking the opportunity to move away from the seamstress and yank the hat off. “Where do you need us?” Catra grinned as she stepped closer.

“Somewhere far away from Needles over there, hopefully,” she murmured, drawing a chuckle from Adora that choked off as the seamstress moved into view.

“Talks on the Whispering Woods are about to begin, She-Ra and th- Catra have been summoned.”

“Oh thank the Moons,” Adora whispered before turning to the seamstress, Catra smirked at her. “Thank you for your time, but we have to take care of this, soooo… see you?” The seamstress narrowed her eyes at her.

“I will have your order within the week,” she said tersely, beginning to gather up her things. “Do not expect exact replicas.” Adora blinked at her and made a confused noise. Catra rolled her eyes, gently cuffing Adora on the back of the head.

“She means the Horde symbol on your shirt.”

“Oh. Oh! That’s good, thank you.” She gave the seamstress a quick nod before moving out of the room at a definite ‘don’t run’ pace.

Once Catra joined her out in the hall she noticed Adora’s hands working at the bottom of her jacket as she followed the guard.

“Hey,” she called to them, making them pause and turn back to her, “we know how to get there, you can- I dunno- get back to whatever it is you do.” The guard looked to Adora, who just nodded slightly, before turning off down a different hall. “Okay,” Catra took the lead, throwing a look back over her shoulder, “what’s up?” Adora jumped slightly before answering.

“I didn’t even think about the symbol,” she admitted, brow furrowing. “That’s weird, right? Kind of sending mixed signals.” Catra turned her eyes back forward and didn’t reply for a moment, thinking it over.

Catra wouldn’t be caught wearing it, but that was because she was spying on them so having it would be suspicious, but Adora didn’t have to worry about that.

“No,” she shrugged, “we came from the Horde, it would be weird to hide it, and weirder to make us. Besides, there could still be other people with more loyalty than sense stuck in there, seeing someone flying the colours with the Rebellion might help them flip sides.”

The thought tugged at Catra’s mind for a moment, “wouldn’t that be something?” She murmured, “steal the Horde’s army out from under them.” She shook her head, that wouldn’t work. Adora was the exception, not the rule. Most of them were either too set in their ways or too invested in the power struggle, and the ones that weren’t were too scared of the rest to do anything that drastic.

“Hmm,” Adora hummed to herself, “I think I know where we’d start if we tried to do that.” Catra threw her a skeptical glance. “Lonnie.”

“Lonnie, really?” Catra groaned, “she sucks.”

“If we get Lonnie, that's more than half the squad, the balance tips in our favour, so Kyle will follow, and when Kyle gets antsy Rogelio’ll help him, that’s a whole squad. If it’s just us two, well, we were top of our class, honestly that just makes us look good, not the Horde look bad. If a whole squad with _Kyle_ in it gets out, then it’s an option just about anyone can take.”

“So your master plan relies on Kyle not messing up and getting himself killed?” Catra scoffed, “he hasn’t made it through a training sim without being carried in years.”

“It’s a longshot, sure.” Adora took in a sharp breath through her teeth, “but if it worked...” She trailed off significantly.

“Yeah, get back to me on that when you’ve got results.” They turned the corner to the open doorway of the meeting room; Catra had to stop herself from grimacing, they didn’t even keep the doors closed for these, how had no one been spying on them already?

The map table was inactive, but in her seat at the other end of it, Angella’s eyes still scanned over it, her face severe and thoughtful. Glimmer sat to her left, almost vibrating in her seat but imitating her mother’s serious expression. At Angella’s other side, the General stood with her helmet tucked under an arm. Spinnerella and Nettossa’s seats were empty, but Catra supposed they couldn’t hang around all the time and this meeting was kind of impromptu.

Catra sauntered over to a seat across from Angella, settling down into it with a bit of a flourish to calm her nerves. She guessed they were just waiting on Bow then.

He arrived shortly, carrying a half-completed tracker pad in one hand, a completed one in the other, and a bundle of colourful paper under his arm.

“Sorry, sorry,” he mumbled, setting down next to Glimmer, “just got caught up.”

“It’s no trouble,” Angella blinked, the severity of her expression dissipating, “a few more moments to think is hardly inconvenient.” Her attention settled across Adora and Catra. “Now then, we cannot make a move on the outpost immediately, we need time to gather our forces,” she gestured to Bow, “and equip them. What will our enemy be doing in the meantime?”

Catra glanced over to Adora, expecting her to take the lead, only to find her looking back expectantly. Catra blinked, but turned back to the table.

“That…” she gathered herself, a little off balance from having to take point, “will depend on whether they think the operation is worth salvaging. Even if we weren’t able to drive them off, we still did a lot of damage to their equipment, so Shadow Weaver will be counting the cost.”

She leaned back in her chair, feeling her brow furrow but already too down the line of thinking like her CO to care. Normally she wouldn’t bother with it, the Whispering Woods were an obstacle, sure, but there was nothing to be directly gained by clearing them out that she couldn’t get alongside something else valuable on another front, probably Saleneas. It was busywork, to make sure Hordak didn’t see fit to interfere with her operations directly.

Catra blinked, that would mean Thaymore had been that too, just busywork. She decided to keep that to herself, Adora had enough of the repercussions of Thaymore rattling around in her head already. 

Getting her mind back on track she had to contain another grimace; unfortunately for the Rebellion, Catra had just handed Shadow Weaver a reason to salvage that outpost. “This one will be worth it. Not only have the Whispering Woods been a serious pain in her neck, but by attacking it without destroying it we’ve just sent up the signal that she’s putting the pressure on us. As long as she still has a presence in that area it’ll cost her less to reinforce it than it would to lose the opportunity.”

She gestured sharply to stop Adora before she could start speaking, she wasn’t quite done yet. “However, with how much damage was caused, she won’t be looking to strike out from there right away. Shadow Weaver never does anything unless she’ll be taking more than one advantage by doing it, so she’ll want a better picture of the woods around the outpost, she’ll be looking to get that while making sure the outpost itself is solid until repairs are finished at the same time.” She nodded to Adora, who took the queue.

“She’ll need a good deal of extra manpower to do both things at once, which means bots. Bots are way better at point defense than they are at scouting, so the primary defending force will be robots, which would be bad for us if it weren’t for one very important thing.” 

Adora sat up a little straighter, a fierce, proud edge creeping into her expression. “I actually didn’t know about this until I went through the handbook they give Force Captains, but the bots have a flaw. I didn’t really understand the specifics, but the gist is that they’re pretty dumb on their own, so they need a way to talk to each other and coordinate.”

“A relay?” Bow interjected thoughtfully.

“Exactly, apparently the size of the thing corresponds to how many bots need to use it. A small squad’s can fit in your pocket, but the one for a force large enough to work full guard duty for a base this size will be big enough that letting the officer carry it isn’t really an option. Instead, it’ll be inside a larger bot that hangs out towards the back. If we can destroy that bot, not just disable it, but completely destroy it- there’s failsafes to make sure it keeps running if the bot it’s in stops- it’ll disorganize the rest of them. It’s not a guaranteed win, but instead of having to face down a firing line, we’ll be dealing with them firing based on proximity and whatever hit them last, which considering the vectors of approach we have, we’re really going to need.”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Catra let her head fall back with a groan.

“You were… distracted,” Adora said softly, a frown tugging at her face before she started again. “They’ve set up at the bottom of a gorge, which means we will have the high ground to start with, but the sides are too sheer to be moving an army down, so we’ll have to move most of the soldiers through the bottlenecks.” Angella narrowed her eyes, Bow and Glimmer both winced. “Yeah, that’s why we _cannot_ hit them properly until the bots are dealt with.”

“Could we not-” Angella paused a moment, a finger tapping at the table as a conflicted expression passed across her face. “Could we not simply collapse the walls around them?” Adora shook her head.

“A week’s more than enough time for them to reinforce the outer defenses, and the barricades they put around bases are rated for cannonfire, a rockslide wouldn’t do anything other than make the approach even more difficult for us.” Angella seemed almost equal parts relieved and irritated for a moment before her face went placid again. Catra spared Glimmer and Bow a glance, Bow’s expression had clouded over, he was thinking something.

“There’s also the scouting team.” Catra offered, taking her eyes off Bow, she’d give him a minute longer, see what he came up with. “They won’t be bots, so they’ll be less predictable. One thing we can count on, though, if they spot us moving an army towards home base, they’re going to call back to let them know. Facing down a firing line is bad enough, but one that knows when you’re coming? That’s suicide.”

“So what I am hearing is that it will be more trouble than it’s worth to take this base?” Angella asked, crooking a brow and scanning across the table.

“Mom,” Glimmer said firmly, “if they manage to clear out the Whispering Woods they have a clean shot right at us. It’s way worse if we just leave them to do it.” Angella’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t say anything.

“This is Shadow Weaver we’re talking about,” Catra said, forcing the hesitation out of her voice, “if it’s easy, it’s a trap.” Or she’s being sloppy out of spite, she thought with a grimace. “She likes to cover as many angles as she can at once,” she blinked, glancing over to Bow again as she realized the weak point, “but she has a habit of leaning too hard on one thing at a time.” Bow popped out of his thoughts with a snap of his fingers.

“We don’t need to destroy the relay, just keep the bots from hearing it!” He placed a hand down on the table and a blank checkerboard plain sprang to life across it. “We’re going to need our pads to help us keep track of each other,” he called up several blue and red markers to the board, connecting the blue ones with lines, “which means we’re going to be saturating the place in signals to begin with.” He moved the blue markers to surround the red, causing the lines to overlap across them, “all I’ll need to do is figure out what frequencies the Horde are using and I can tune our equipment to cancel it out.”

“Which would cut off the scouting team, too!” Glimmer added excitedly.

“And if they have any calls or regular check-ins, not being able to get those out will spook them.” Catra frowned appreciatively, “that might make more than just the bots twitchy.”

“That seems more dangerous than helpful,” Angella said skeptically.

“Hair triggers are bad shots,” Catra and Adora found themselves saying at the same time. The others at the table blinked at them a moment before Adora shrugged.

“The more pressure the enemy puts on a soldier, the more likely they are to fold,” she said. “That’s what officers are there for, to put pressure on from the other direction, cancel it out.” Bow, Glimmer, and Angella all gave them looks with varying degrees of horror and Adora shrunk beneath them. “Which, you know, saying it out loud now, is kind of awful.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Catra felt herself bristle, waving a hand flippantly, “point is scaring them is good for us.” She made herself bare her teeth in a crooked grin, pointing at Angella, “I mean, with the kind of propaganda they sling around about you specifically, just showing up might be enough to send half of them running for the hills.”

“What have they been saying about me?” Angella blinked, her wings shifting a moment. Catra stopped for a moment, wondering which story would be easiest to move past, but Adora beat her to the punch with an awkward clearing of her throat.

“Uh... that you eat prisoners.” Adora’s voice nearly cracked when Angella turned confused eyes on her. “For starters.”

“That’s preposterous,” she said, drawing herself up straighter, “we do not even take prisoners.” Catra had to hold in a laugh at that.

“Hardcore,” she drawled. Angella let out a long-suffering sigh.

“That’s not what I meant.” She rubbed a hand across her brow before saying firmly, “so, we will have them off balance, what would you suggest we do then?” Catra nodded at her before returning to the task at hand.

“We’ll want to keep some people up at the top of the gorge for ranged support, Bow can lead a squad to make sure the Horde keeps their heads down. It won’t stop the bots from shooting at us, but it’ll go pretty far to make sure no random grunt gets off a lucky shot. And the sides of the gorge will make for good cover if they start shooting back. Only real problem there will be artillery, which, if they’ve decided to reinforce the base, they’re going to have more of.”

“Spinnerella could go help with that,” Glimmer offered, “she’s great at dealing with artillery. One time I saw her tear a cannon right up out of the ground.” Angella crooked an eyebrow at her.

“And when would this have been?” Glimmer let out an embarrassed squeak and sat a little further back in her chair.

“Could we call Perfuma to help?” Adora asked, “I know the Whispering Woods isn’t technically powered by the same kind of magic as Plumeria, but she could probably still give us an advantage.”

“No,” Angella turned away from Glimmer, “she is still driving the last remnants of the Horde from her kingdom, and will likely be engaged with that for some time.”

“If we’re not taking prisoners we want to make it easy for them to retreat, right?” Catra asked, to a nod from Angella. “That makes things a little simpler on our end. Instead of having to protect charges from either end of the gorge, we only need to do one. We’ll need to scout the area around it a bit, so we know which end comes out closer to the Fright Zone, but we were going to need to do that anyways.”

“If we are already entreating Spinnerella to protect our cover fire, then Netossa will be coming along with her,” Angella said, steepling her hands. “I propose we place her among the ground team.” Catra crooked an eyebrow but shrugged.

“Fair enough, doubt she’d do much good up top.” Nets seemed like a weird choice to her if they weren’t taking prisoners- or well, executing anyone- but the more crowd control they could manage the better. A slow smile spread across Angella’s face.

“I suspect she will surprise you.”

“Sure,” Adora said slowly, making it clear she didn’t quite know what to make of that either before clearing her throat. “Glimmer, we’re going to want you on lookout and communication.”

“Communication? Isn’t that what we have the pads for?”

“Yes, on the way there; but when we’re being shot at it’s not going to be easy to check those. That’s where you come in, you can be anywhere on the battlefield at any time, if someone’s overextended and needs help retreating, or needs to know something right away, you can make that happen better than anyone else, before anyone else.” 

“Oh,” Glimmer blinked, “that makes sense. Yeah, I can do that!”

Catra had to keep her eyes from narrowing, that had the dual side effects of both keeping Glimmer out of the line of fire and making it so the only times she was in it her express job was to leave. She might have been leaning a little too hard on keeping her from getting reckless. But Glimmer seemed happy with it, and if the thoughtful way Angella was looking at Adora was any indication she approved. If it was a ploy to earn Angella’s confidence, it seemed to be working.

Catra wasn’t sure why that set annoyance churning in her gut, but she shoved it aside. It was a good plan, no need to disrupt it. Or maybe there was. She let her focus settle heavily on the simple display Bow had left up on the table, she was still technically working for the Horde, and with what they were dealing with this might win the Rebellion the outpost. Unless the scouting team had enough people on it to outflank them.

Catra felt herself relax just slightly; it probably would. If someone interfered with the suppressing fire early on things would get ugly down in the gorge really fast. And it was just common sense to do that. She glanced over at Adora, still eagerly chatting away with Bow and Glimmer about their roles in the plan. It didn’t seem to have occurred to her what a threat the scouting party could be to them. Catra decided not to bring it up.

That sinking feeling began to gather in her gut again, but she could ignore it. It would be worth it in the long run. Better scared than dead. She felt Angella’s attention settle on her for a moment and the feeling solidified, like she’d broken a promise.

She swallowed it down, she didn’t owe these people anything, not really. She could tell something inside of her didn’t believe that, but it didn’t matter. It _didn’t._

In fact, it didn’t even matter if they won this battle.

She had to stop herself from blinking. Shadow Weaver’s goals weren’t hers, and it wasn’t like this base was actually important to Shadow Weaver either before she found out about Razz, and in the long run the Rebellion was doomed if the Horde ever actually came together to attack something properly. A single battle wouldn’t do anything more than drag it out longer; and Catra couldn’t deny there was something in her that wanted just as much to deny Shadow Weaver her prize as she wanted to use it to prove her worth.

She took a quiet breath, pulling herself off that train of thought. That was a slippery slope, spiting Shadow Weaver and spiting the Horde were more or less the same thing. If she wanted them to get out of this alive she would just have to suck it up like she always had.

She met Angella’s eyes for a moment, keeping her own face calm. In order for Adora to live, these people had to die, Angella most of all.

Catra helped them iron out the rest of the plan. She did not tell them to watch the rear.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi at [Makuta's Chronicle](https://makutas-chronicle.tumblr.com) or [genVicron!](https://genvicron.tumblr.com)


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